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Pawing Bull

500–475 BCE
bronze
Overall: 10.6 x 5 cm (4 3/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
Weight: 3.34 kg
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1930.336
Location: 102C Greek
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This solid-cast bronze bull is nearly intact, missing only its tail.

Description

With its head slightly lowered and right foreleg raised in a pawing motion, this robust bull seems poised for action. The pose closely resembles that of bulls on coins minted at Thurii, a Greek colony in South Italy, but the statuette seems earlier in date and could have other associations. Perhaps the bull once carried the princess Europa, for example, or battled a lion or a hero. Alternatively, it may have stood alone as a small-scale offering, representing the actual bulls sometimes sacrificed to deities.
Pawing Bull

Pawing Bull

500–475 BCE

South Italy, Lucania, Greek

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