1992.256.72: Divinity on a Bull
SculptureIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1992.256.72
- Title
- Divinity on a Bull
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- statuette, sculpture
- Date
- 5th-4th century BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
- Period
- Classical period
- Culture
- Italic
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/310297
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Copper
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 4 x 3.8 x 1.4 cm (1 9/16 x 1 1/2 x 9/16 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: lead, tin, iron, silver, antimony, arsenic
Comments: The man and animal are similar alloys.
K. Eremin, January 2014Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 98.93; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, 0.07; Zn, less than 0.001; Fe, less than 0.01; Ni, 0.08; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.07; As, 0.83; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. RiedererTechnical Observations: The patina is brown with areas of red and spots of green. The surface appears porous in some areas, and none of the usual, continuous layers of corrosion products are present. The object was probably cleaned electrolytically, stripping away most of the corrosion products. The surface is coated with a thick, shiny layer of synthetic resin. The condition makes it difficult to be certain this object is an antiquity.
The freely modeled shapes and surfaces indicate the piece was probably cast from a model made directly in wax.
Henry Lie (submitted 2012)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates
- Accession Year
- 1992
- Object Number
- 1992.256.72
- 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
Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This very roughly modeled figure rides a bull. The figure and bull are both very schematic. The figure and bull are integral. The shape of the legs can be discerned, but the rest of the figure is an irregular mass, lacking arms and a distinguishable head. The bull has short curving horns (the left is longer than the right), and irregular short legs that taper at the ends. It has a short stubby downward-pointed tail and an elongated torso. A bit of casting material at the neck resembles a dewlap.
In Italy, similar statuettes appear in groups in votive contexts of the fifth to fourth centuries BCE (1).
NOTES:
1. Compare M. Tombolani, Bronzi figurati etruschi italici paleoveneti e romani del Museo Provinciale di Torcello (Rome, 1981) 47-49; G. Zampieri, Il Museo Archeologico di Padova (Milan, 1994) 114-15 and 122-23, figs. 163.7-11, 165.5-8, and 176.25-29. Compare also slightly more well-formed examples from Sardinia in G. Liliu, Sculture della Sardegna nuragica (Cagliari, 1966) 387-93, nos. 188-90.
Lisa M. Anderson
Subjects and Contexts
- Ancient Bronzes
Related Objects
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