This well-proportioned bronze deer stands rigid on four feet, his highly stylised head held proudly aloft, with the two antlers protruding backwards. A large quantity of highly advanced and stylised bronze objects have been found throughout the Luristan region in north western, dating from approximately the 1st Millennium B.C. It is believed they were mostly discovered during excavations from the 1930’s onwards. Many of these items include not only war related items such as axe heads, swords, horse tack and spears, but also figurative idols such as ‘Master of Animal’ finials, human idols (particularly those famously from the Piravend region), and small animal ornaments. It is not known what these more stylised idols and animal shaped bronzes would have been used for, many often have loops on the back presumably for hanging. Whether these items were carried about the person, however, or if the items were strung up around the domiciles, it is not known. It is thought many of these idols, be it human or animal, were made in representation or in honour of various deity’s or gods. Some scholars have claimed to recognize Indo-European, Vedic, or Zoroastrian elements in such imagery, however all interpretations remain speculative. The “Luristan bronze” industry was phenomenon of the 1st millennium B.C. with no evidence of large-scale bronze manufacture prior to this time, and with a terminus sometime before the beginning of the Achaemenid period. The reason why it ceased to function and whether it did so abruptly or gradually are unknown.

Exhibited

Brafa, Brussels 2019

Published

Charles Gillet (1879–1972) was the son of a prominent French industrialist and came to run the family’s businesses, which became the important chemical firm Rhône-Poulenc. The great wealth he amassed as head of the family gave Gillet the freedom to pursue collecting in a variety of arts, including antiquities and numismatics. Gillet was known to have formed his collection with a keen eye for beauty, rarity, and quality.
He was a close friend of Madam Marion Schuster, who was Baroness von Goldschmidt-Rothschild through marriage to Albert von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, one of the largest and most influential families in Germany at the time. She was a collector of fine art and antiquities herself, and obtained a number of items from Charles Gillet.

This collection was then inherited by descent by her four children Lucie (Burki), Karl, Nadine (Von Mauthner) and Mathilde.

Provenance

Charles Gillet (1879-1972) Collection.
Baroness Goldschmidt-Rothschild (nee. Marion Schuster, 1902-1982), collection inv. no. 293.
Thence by descent to Nadine von Mauthner (nee. von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, 1927-2011) collection, Frankfurt.
Accompanied by signed affidavit from Mr J.P Froidevaux, grandson of Marion Schuster and a photo of the piece in the house of Nadine von Mauthner.

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