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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.71
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/310323

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.9 x 4.2 x 1.4 cm (1 15/16 x 1 5/8 x 9/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, zinc, iron, nickel, arsenic
Comments: The man and animal are similar alloys.
K. Eremin, January 2014

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 96.95; Sn, 0.89; Pb, 0.24; Zn, 0.005; Fe, 0.38; Ni, 0.97; Ag, 0.02; Sb, less than 0.05; As, 0.47; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.084; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is a pitted, black, rough surface and appears to be the result of electrolytically stripping away most of the corrosion products. Some rough areas of mixed corrosion products and brown burial accretions remain. The object is a solid cast in one piece.


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
1992.256.71
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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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’s cylindrical body joins into the top of the bull; they are integral. The figure raises its left arm and lowers its right. Globular eyes and nose are visible on the face, which is tilted back; on the top of the head is a rounded shape that may indicate a cap. The figure’s body leans forward on the bull. The bull has an elongated torso and small, short legs. Its legs in front and back are curved inward to touch each other. The bull has a long tail that hangs down. It has two short outward curving horns and a round snout.

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