A finely cast and hammered Neo-Assyrian bronze bowl featuring a hemispherical container with a flattened base. Its slightly convex walls render an elegant continuously curved profile, ending in a narrow flat rim. The bowl is largely covered with the beautiful lustre of green patina and earthy encrustations with spots of the vibrant bronze emerging from within. In the Iron Age Mediterranean, footless bronze bowls featuring hemispherical containers and curved profiles were richly decorated with Greek and Etruscan motifs. Bronze bowls of this kind, however, with a simpler finish, originated in the ancient Near East. They may have first been created by Iranian artisans during the Iron Age. Differing from the Greek and Etruscan parallels that were normally used for religious occasions, Near Eastern bronze bowls were used by the elite as a luxurious daily object. The Neo-Assyrian period refers specifically to the fourth, and penultimate, era of ancient Assyrian history. The Assyrians dominated the Near East throughout the 8th and 7th centuries and helmed the largest empire in history at the time. Measurements: W 18.8cm x H 5cm Provenance: From a London collection formed 1989-2000, sold from Pars Antiquities, London, 2002.