A GREEK BRONZE BULL

LATE CLASSICAL TO EARLY HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK BRONZE BULL
LATE CLASSICAL TO EARLY HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
Naturalistically modelled with ribs, bone structure and musculature, the head lowered, with incised mouth, nostrils and recessed lidded eyes, the ears upright with horns curving back beneath, a thick rib of curling hair running from the poll to the withers, the locks of hair incised, the genitalia rendered and remains of a looped tail on his haunches
3½ in. (8.9 cm.) long

Provenance

Dr Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) collection, Zurich, acquired prior to 1981.
Property from the Leo Mildenberg Collection of Ancient Animals; Christie's, New York, 10 December 2004, lot 317.

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Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
A. P. Kozloff, ed., Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, Cleveland, 1981, no. 144.
U. Gehrig, ed., Tierbilder aus vier Jahrtausenden, Antiken der Sammlung Mildenberg, Mainz am Rhein, 1983, no. 144.

G. Mitten states in Animals in Ancient Art that this bull 'ranks among the finest surviving Greek animal bronzes from the late Classical and early Hellenistic decades'.

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