Statuette of a Griffin

The griffin is a mythical creature, part mammal and part bird of prey. This type of composite creature, with a bird's head and wings, is often featured in the art of Urartu (an ancient Near Eastern state in eastern Anatolia and the Armenian highlands between about the ninth and the sixth centuries BCE). The griffin is to be seen as an expression of the Urartian religious imaginary, but while it may be understood as the companion or sacred animal of a divinity, the concrete role it played in myth and worship remains unknown. This example, hollow-cast in bronze, has been identified as part of a monumental divine throne that probably belonged to the cult image of Haldi, the tutelary deity of Urartu. Like the other figurative and decorative elements of the throne, the griffin was originally covered in gold foil, of which only tiny particles survive. The tail and right leg of the beast are missing. The eye sockets, eyebrows and parts of the rings above the head had coloured inlays.