A ROMAN BRONZE COW
A ROMAN BRONZE COW
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This lot has been imported from outside the EU for… Read more PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
A ROMAN BRONZE COW

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details
A ROMAN BRONZE COW
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.
10 1/8 in. (25.5 cm.) long
Provenance
Nicolas Koutoulakis (1910-1996), Paris and Geneva; thence by descent to the present owner.
Special notice
This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer Price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the Buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Claudio Corsi
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Lot Essay


Bulls and cows were common in ancient art because of their mythical associations and use as sacrifices. This cow invites an association with the famous sculpture by the 5th century B.C. Greek sculptor Myron. The original, in bronze, was displayed on the Athenian Acropolis, and later taken to Rome. Although no known copies survive, the sculpture is well known from the many epigrams written by Greek and Latin authors. So lifelike was Myron's bronze that it was said to have attracted a bull and confused shepherds (see p. 144 in C. Mattusch, Greek Bronze Statuary: From the Beginnings Through the Fifth Century B.C.). For a similar bronze at the British Museum, London, see acc. no. 1873,0820.255.

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