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Pawing Bull, 500–475 BC. bronze, Overall: 10.6 x 5 cm (4 3/16 x 1 15/16 in.). Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1930.336. CC0.
Pawing Bull
500–475 BC
Maker Unknown
Greek and Roman Art
Pawing Bull, 500–475 BC. South Italy, Lucania, Greece, early 5th Century BC. Bronze; overall: 10.6 x 5 cm (4 3/16 x 1 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1930.336 With its head slightly lowered and right foreleg raised in a pawing motion, this robust bull seems poised for action. The pose closely resembles that of bulls on coins minted at Thurii, a Greek colony in South Italy, but the statuette seems earlier in date and could have other associations. Perhaps the bull once carried the princess Europa, for example, or battled a lion or a hero. Alternatively, it may have stood alone as a small-scale offering, representing the actual bulls sometimes sacrificed to deities. This solid-cast bronze bull is nearly intact, missing only its tail.