Figure of the god Baal. Phoenician art, 6th century BC.

Figure of the god Baal. Phoenician art, 6th century BC.
Bronze.
Provenance: European private collection; former Shlomo Moussaieff collection, Israel, 1948-2000.
With export permit.
Good general preservation, with archaeological patina, surface corrosion and small losses consistent with age.
Mounted on a modern stand.
Measurements: 23,5 x 3,5 x 7,5 cm.

Important Phoenician bronze figure representing the god Baal, one of the main divinities of the ancient eastern Mediterranean, associated with celestial power, storm, rain and fertility. The piece shows the god standing, in a frontal and hieratic attitude, with legs forward and stylized body, following a formulation of great symbolic force.

The head is crowned by a high conical headdress, an attribute of divine authority, while the body, of elongated proportions and synthetic modeling, responds to the characteristic language of the small Phoenician votive bronzes. The absence of detailed naturalism concentrates the expressiveness on the silhouette, the verticality and the ritual presence of the figure.

This type of bronze sculpture is linked to devotional contexts and may have functioned as a cult image or votive offering in sanctuaries. Its small format does not detract from the intensity of the work: the frontality, the restrained gesture and the noble archaeological patina convey the sacred dimension of an image conceived as a support of divine presence.

The provenance of the ancient Shlomo Moussaieff collection adds special relevance to the piece, placing it within one of the best known private collections of antiquities from the Near East and the biblical world.