Add to Collection

Add this item to an existing or new collection.
Harvard Art Museums
Incorrect Username, Email, or Password
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.624
Title
Boar
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
5th century BCE
Period
Archaic period to Classical
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/290455

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mixed technique
Dimensions
5.5 × 4 × 10.2 cm (2 3/16 × 1 9/16 × 4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.624
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
Mostly complete figurine; mended from at least seven fragments.

Standing boar with short legs, facing forward. Both sides are modeled plastically, with the head cocked slightly so that the snout points to the right; if there was a preferred side for display it was likely the proper right. Two small, perked-up ears; rounded eyebrows rendered in relief; short, pointed snout. Naturalistic main body with simple shortened stumps for legs. A short mane runs down the body, from between the ears back to the rump.

Would have been painted originally. Heavy white ground extant all over surface. Traces of red pigment visible on both ears.

Heavy; perhaps mostly solid. Mold-made in a single bivalve mold. The legs appear to be handmade additions. No visible join seams (maybe concealed with the mane). Small venthole at back in between the hind legs; naturalistic placement.

Creamy yellow clay, very finely levigated.

Commentary
Boars can be very powerful animals, a fact well-attested in antiquity both in historical writing (chapter 10 of Xenophon’s “Cynegeticus” deals with the boar hunt, for instance), and in myth. Some of Greece’s all-star heroes -Theseus, Heracles, and Atalanta, to name a few- bravely made battle with ferocious boars. Our terracotta friend, however, does not seem to pose any danger; not only does it stand peaceably, but its face appears to smile. Furthermore, both its shape and the fine quality of the clay invite handling. What effects could have holding this small boar had on people? Did those who handle it feel subtly empowered, finally larger and stronger than the fearsome beast?

Despite their potential for chaos, pigs were also associated with fertility and could be presented as gifts to like-minded goddesses such as Demeter. Was our boar a toy for a child? An aid to someone dreaming of heroic deeds? An offering to a goddess that could reciprocate with the gift of abundance? It could have been all these things and more, depending on the needs of its beholder.

Publication History

  • Fogg Art Museum, The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities, A Special Exhibition, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1961), p. 33, no. 278

Exhibition History

  • The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961
  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/03/2023 - 01/01/2050

Related Works

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