A Sardinian bronze votive boat
Nuragic Period, circa 7th Century B.C.
Set on rounded tripod feet and with a deer head prow, with long neck, alert ears and long, backward curving horns, a small animal, probably a pig, in the open vessel, the tail curled around the back, three short vertical projections around the outer edge of the boat, 10.7cm long注脚Provenance:
Private collection, Switzerland, prior to 1980 (according to Thimme).
Private collection, London; acquired from Athena Galerie, Munich, 1989-1990.

Published:
J. Thimme (ed.), Kunst und Kultur Sardiniens vom Neolithikum bis zum Ende der Nuraghenzeit, exhibition cat., Karlsruhe, 1980, p. 332, pl. 197.

Cf. another votive boat with a monkey (?) crouching in the open vessel in the Archaeological National Museum of the Sardinian capital Cagliari. These votive boats often depict domesticated land animals, such as dogs and pigs, on board - for further discussion, see R.A. Gonzalez, 'Sardinian bronze figurines in their Mediterranean setting', Praehistorische Zeitschrift, September 2012, p. 83-109. The above lot, with the smaller bovine in the vessel and tripod feet, is an exceedingly rare example; Thimme notes that the antelope-like head is unparalleled in Sardinian art.