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large bronze bull's head rhyton
£285.00
The iconic piece from Knossos. Height including his base: 28cm
quantity
about the bronzes in this collection
The bronze pieces are cast in Greece using the traditional lost wax method. As nothing is mass-produced, there will inevitably be slight variations in texture, patina, and colour. No two pieces are ever the same. If mounted on a marble base, it will be a black or very dark grey base. There may be a variation of some millimetres in the dimensions of the base from time to time. It's All Greek is so grateful and so proud to have been working closely with the Semitekolo family foundry since 1999. It has been a privilege and a joy to handle, live with, and photograph these gorgeous pieces and to pass them on to customers all over the world. |
about the original rhyton
The original of this rhyton, a ritual pouring vessel, is carved steatite with inlaid shell, jasper and crystal. It is hollow, with a hole in the top, into which liquid could be poured; when the head was tipped, the liquid would pour out of the mouth. The horns on the original piece have been restored, and were probably made of gilded wood.
It was found in Knossos and dates to ca 1550-1500 BCE and is now in the Heraklion Museum in Crete.
about the bull
Symbol of virility and strength. The worship of the bull was widespread in the ancient world as it symbolised power, strength and virility. It played a particularly prominent role in Cretan culture, where images of it appear on many of the frescoes and pottery. To the Egyptians, the constellation we know as Taurus represented the renewal of life in the spring.
Zeus took a fancy to Europa, daughter of the king of Phoenicia, and changed himself into a gorgeous white bull. Europa, entranced by its beauty, climbed onto its back. The bull leapt into the sea, and carried the unsuspecting Europa all the way to Crete. Zeus made love to her, the result of which were three sons, one of whom was Minos, who became King of Crete and gave his name to the Minoan Civilisation. And the name of the continent Europe derives from this myth.
Surviving Minoan frescoes depict bull-leaping rituals, and the bull is one of the most recurrent symbols in ancient Minoan art and jewellery.