A NEOLITHIC POTTERY ‘ZEBU’ FIGURE, KULLI CULTURE, CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD, 2300-2000 BC

Expert’s note: The humped bull is more specifically linked to the Kulli culture, contemporary with the Indus civilization (2500–1800 BC). While Indus seals are famous for their depictions of zebu and unicorns shown in profile, this vessel reflects the distinctive animal art of the Kulli, long overlooked. It also demonstrates their mastery of space, modeling, and sense of volume, imparting a near-monumental presence to the bull, perhaps within a cultic context.

Pakistan, possibly Nindowari. The humped bull stands foursquare, its head characterized by large eyes and a broad snout with a painted muzzle, framed by pointed ears and long, curved horns. The tail curls around the rump of the sturdy animal, whose body is decorated in black pigment with abstract and geometric bands.

Provenance: A. E. Barbara, Kent, United Kingdom. The collection of A. Morlet, Brussels, Belgium, acquired from the above, circa in 1971. Thence with Ilunga Gallery, Gent, Belgium, acquired from the above. The collection of Mr. and Mrs. Sergeant, Gent, Belgium, acquired from the above, and thence by descent. A copy of a certificate from Ilunga, written and signed by Luc Cannoot, confirming the provenance and dating above, accompanies this lot. Ilunga was a noted gallery of African and Asian art and antiquities founded in 1980 in Ghent, Belgium, operated by its long-time director Luc Cannoot, who today is active as a contemporary artist, painter, and sculptor. Ilunga is the name that the Luba people give to those they consider to be unifying or bringing people together.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, expected repairs with associated touchups, small chips to the mouth, nicks, scratches, flaking and rubbing to pigment, signs of burial, encrustations, all as exactly expected from an ancient terracotta aged four millennia.

Weight: 1,028 g
Dimensions: Length 26.5 cm

The Kulli culture (c. 2500-2000 BC) flourished in southern Baluchistan, in present-day Pakistan, contemporaneous with the Indus Valley Civilization. It is known for distinctive ceramic vessels and figures, often painted with geometric and animal motifs, including humped bulls and birds. The culture produced zoomorphic pottery and terracotta figurines, showing strong artistic links to neighboring regions. Settlements reveal evidence of agriculture, cattle herding, and trade with the Indus cities. Though less documented than the Indus, Kulli culture reflects a vibrant local tradition within the wider Chalcolithic world of South Asia.

Zebu cattle are thought to be derived from the Indian bos primigenius namadicus, a subspecies of the aurochs. Wild Asian aurochs disappeared during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization from their range in the Indus River basin and other parts of the South Asian region possibly due to interbreeding with domestic zebu and the resultant fragmentation of wild populations due to loss of habitat. Believed to have first been bred in northwestern South Asia, between 7000 and 6000 BC, they are understood to have been dispersed by 4000 BC and spread across much of South Asia by 2000 BC.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related painted ceramic zebu rhyton, Kulli Culture, dated 2300-2000 BC, in the Musée Guimet, inventory number MA 12675. Compare a closely related group of painted terracotta buffaloes, Baluchistan, Pre-Indus Period, 3^rd millennium BC, in the British Museum.