Terracotta Bull from Nippur. Measures approximately 1 3/4 inches high x 2 ¼ inch length (from tip of nose to rump) x 1 1/4 inch width (measured from above –to two hoofs)

I have attached a page from the Colosseum Coin Exchange, Inc., Mail Bid Auction #67 List #102 Closing Date January 21, 1993, catalogue in Hazlet, NJ that describes the Bull and the corresponding photograph. I do not have the cover of the catalogue but copied all the information on a 3 x 5 index card during the early 1990s when I was actively collecting Nippur animals.

Lot #319 ...and a ter. figure of a bull, 2 ¼” L. (250) estimate 45 (opening bid). See Lot #318 for additional description on the C.C.E. auction listing page.

This is the book the C. C. E. auction listing is referring to:

Legrain, Leon. Terra-cottas from Nippur. Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Press 1930, 52 pages.

Below is a link to U of Penn. collection:

https://www.penn.museum/collections/objects/bibliography.php?irn=2706. It seems many of the items have been heavily restored. Most were excavated from 1888-1890.

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago began digging at Nippur in 1948; this is the longest-running Oriental Institute excavation in the Near East. It continued until 2019. See the Oriental Institute’s website for additional excavation dates and details.

Only the bull is for sale. Not the catalogue page as I bought other items from this catalogue auction. But you are welcome as the buyer to copy the jpg of this document. For some reason I don’t have the invoice.

I cannot guarantee that this Bull hasn’t been skillfully restored, so understand that it is being sold “AS IS”. From my care examination with a jeweler’s loop, I don’t think so. It may have had a cargo or saddle as there are some remnants on its back.

I am listing a total of 6 Nippur animals.

The ancient city of Nippur is located in the marshes of southern Mesopotamia and now a dilapidated, prehistoric town; it was once, one of the most sacred cities in the ancient Middle East. Between 1889 and 1900, the University of Pennsylvania was the first American institution to carry out archaeological excavations in this region. The expedition to the site was organized by John P. Peters, funded by the Babylonian Exploration Fund, and directed by Peters and Herman V. Hilprecht. It revealed a multi-layer site with a long and complicated history, and, most significantly, a library of inscribed cuneiform tablets that have formed the basis of our understanding of the first literate society in the world, the Sumerians. Nippur had a very long life compared to surrounding cities, having lasted from nearly 5000 BC until 800 AD.