Rare Ancient Levantine Bronze Votive Plaque Baal Hadad Canaanite Shrine COA For Sale

Masterpiece Ancient Levantine / Canaanite Bronze Votive Shrine Plaque featuring Baal Hadad

Authenticity & Guarantee

• Provenance: Ex-private European collection, legally acquired from international sales; Ancient Levantine / Near Eastern sphere.

Item Specifications

• Object: Cast Bronze Votive Plaque / Temple Amulet / Sacred Shrine Fitting

• Culture / Period: Late Bronze Age to Iron Age II (Canaanite / Phoenician Levantine Sphere)

• Date Range: Circa 1200 BC – 600 BC

• Material: Heavy Cast Bronze (Copper Alloy)

• Form & Architecture: Curved leaf-shaped or boat-form votive plaque cast with a slightly raised outer lip; central field depicts the storm god Baal Hadad standing in high relief with a crowned headpiece, positioned above stylized sacred flora/palmettes

• Condition: Superior archaeological preservation. The central sacred relief remains distinct under a dense, uncleaned olive-green and cuprite patina with natural burial soil matrix. Completely free of modern restoration or tooling.

The Cult of Baal Hadad & Temple Votives

In the ancient Near East and Canaanite religion, Baal Hadad was revered as the supreme storm god, lord of rain, fertility, and divine power. Devotees and temple pilgrims offered cast bronze plaques, amulets, and votive fittings to sanctuary altars to invoke divine favor, agricultural abundance, and martial protection (Ref: Yon, The City of Ugarit at Tell Ras Shamra, Eisenbrauns, 2006; Moscati, The Phoenicians, Rizzoli, 1988).

Iconographic & Sacred Design

The central figure displays classic Canaanite/Phoenician iconographic markers: the high conical headpiece representing divine sovereignty, elevated above sacred palmettes or lotus foliage that symbolize life and rebirth. The elongated, curved plaque design allowed the piece to serve either as a portable votive talisman or as an inlaid decorative fitting on a temple shrine or sacred box.

Typological Analysis & Exact Classification

• Primary Class: Ancient Levantine Bronze Votive Plaque / Cultic Amulet

• Sub-Class: Canaanite / Phoenician Storm God (Baal) Iconography Class

Comparable Archaeological Examples & Museum Accession Numbers

• Louvre Museum (Inv. No. AO 15775): Bronze Age Canaanite bronze statuette/plaque of the god Baal from Ugarit (Ras Shamra).

• British Museum (Accession No. 125340): Near Eastern bronze votive plaque with high-relief deity.

• Israel Museum, Jerusalem (IAA Collection): Iron Age Phoenician bronze cultic plaque with divine figure and sacred palmettes.