Just a moment
Just a moment
South Italy, Lucania, Greek · 500–475 BCE · Cleveland Museum of Art
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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. This solid-cast bronze bull is nearly intact, missing only its tail.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0