Bactria was an ancient Iranian civilisation based in modern-day northern Afghanistan, parts of southwest Tajikistan, and areas of southeast Uzbekistan. The modern term ‘Bactria’ is derived from the Ancient Greek name for the area, derived from the Old Persian name Bakhdi. This area was later part of the Achaemenid Empire, and was conquered by Alexander the Great. During the Bronze Age, it was part of what is now called the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). Over the course of the 3rd millennium BC, a society made up of small farming settlements underwent urban development, with innovations including the use of the wheel, the introduction of metalworking technology, and the construction of irrigation systems and monumental architecture.

This sculpture represents a mouflon, a type of wild sheep native to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, eastern Turkey, and Iran. All modern domestic sheep breeds are thought to descend from it. It is characterised by a red or dark brown coat, and the horns possessed by the males, which can grow up to almost a full revolution in maturity. In this artwork, the animal is clearly stylised; the curving horns are attached to the body, and the animal has been made rounder and fatter than the mouflon is in reality. This may have been to make the carving process easier, and to ensure that the finished sculpture was stable, but it also may have been for aesthetic effect; the animal has a pleasing and gentle character. The depiction is simple, with the curving horns and short legs as the only features clearly represented on the body. The pointed face has two drilled holes to represent the eyes. The dark grey stone is covered with lighter markings, which may be fossilised inclusions, and which form patterns all over the animal’s body. The figure is polished to achieve a beautiful smoothness, and faint lines from this process can be seen across the surface.