Elegant bronze statuette of a panther attacking a stag; the stag rears on hindlegs leaving throat exposed to panther who’s jaws and front paws are locked around the stag’s neck; moulded and tooled naturalistic detailing. An attempt at naturalism can be seen in the musculature of either animal and the moulded detailing. Elam was an ancient kingdom of Central Asia that corresponded approximately to the modern day province of Khuzistan in Iran. The capital of Elam and its most fabled city was Susa, today the city of Shush. Elamite states, while somewhat overshadowed in history by the rival kingdoms of Babylon and Assyria, were among the most powerful political forces of the ancient Near East. Founded in 3200 BC and lasted – in various guises – almost continuously until the mid 1st millennium BC when succeeded by the Persian Achaemenid dynasty. This piece heralds from the Neo-Elamite period, c. 1100- 539 BC and is characterized by both Assyrian and Median influence.