A GREEK BRONZE BULL PROTOME

HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.

細節

A GREEK BRONZE BULL PROTOME
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
Possibly depicting the Seventh Labor of Herakles, the forepart of the powerful bull preserved, with forelegs raised, the details of the hooves, musculature and ridged dewlap naturalistically modelled, the mouth open exposing the tongue, the thick snout well-modelled, with short, curling locks on the dewlap, two arms reaching across his forehead below the horns, the left hand grabbing the right wrist, a mortise preserved at the top of the bull's head, likely for the separately-made body of Herakles
6¾ in. (17.15 cm.) high

來源

European Private Collection, 1980.

拍品專文

In Herakles' Seventh Labor, the hero sails to Crete to capture the Cretan bull. After subduing it with his bare hands, he brings it back to King Eurystheus, king of Tiryns in the Argolid, who releases it. Subsequently the bull terrorizes the area around Marathon.