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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.72
Title
Divinity on a Bull
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
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: 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. Riederer

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 2014

Technical 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
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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 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