Серебряная протома быка из кургана № 2 группы «Караван» близ Люботина

The article studies the silver bull protome found in mound no. 2 of “Karavan” group near the town Lubotyn, Kharkiv region (Seversky Donets basin). For the first time, all protome fragments are published and their graphic reconstruction is carried out. It is proved that the item in question was part of a rhyton. Morphological analysis of the rhyton makes it possible to date it to the late 7th — early 6th centuries BC. The iconographic and stylistic analysis allows us concluding that this rhyton is one of the earliest in the series of rhyta which later became widespread in the Achaemenid Empire. It has been suggested that the place of its production was Western Iran — historical Media or Elam — where Assyrian art had a significant influence on local cultural traditions. Many considerations are expressed about the cult of the bull in the Scythian culture of the Archaic period.