Harvard Art Museums > 1960.511: Europa on a Running Bull Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Europa on a Running Bull , 1960.511,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 27, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/290835. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1960.511 Title Europa on a Running Bull Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture Date c. 460-440 BCE Places Creation Place: Europe, Greece Period Classical period Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/290835 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta; buff clay, traces of white slip; pink, blue, and red paint Technique Mold-made Dimensions 12.5 × 11.5 cm (4 15/16 × 4 1/2 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson Accession Year 1960 Object Number 1960.511 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Complete figurine in good condition. A woman, dressed, riding side-saddle on a running bull. Small head with regular features, with hair pulled up into a demure coiffure. She wears the “peplos of Athena”, and leans with her left arm on the bull’s neck, her hand grabbing onto his right horn. She keeps her right arm close to the body, draping her hand gently over the bull’s rump. Her legs curve to the back, as if propelled there by the bull’s forward momentum. The bull himself faces slightly towards the viewer (towards his proper right flank). The right foreleg is bent, so that the hoof does not lay flat on the ground. Would have been painted originally. Significant traces of white ground extant. Pink pigment visible on Europa’s face, chest, legs and chiton, with a narrow band of red at the figure’s bottom edge. Hollow, with solid heads. Mold-made in a single-sided mold, likely plaster. Plain slab at back, with large rectangular venthole. Clay treated differently at front: better levigated. Commentary Dynamic in gesture but serene in expression, this figurine depicts the famous abduction of Europa by the god Zeus. Having taken the form of a beautiful white bull, Zeus seized the princess, and brought her from her home in Phoenicia to the island of Crete. Once on the island, Europa bore Zeus a son, Minos, who would grow up to be Crete’s most famous king. Exhibition History The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
