Figure
ca. 1200 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This unique ceramic sculpture depicts a horned bull with a pronounced dewlap, standing on a rectangular base, with his tail curled round between his hind legs. A ring of mounds runs round the edge of the base, suggesting the boundary of a pen. There is no discernible opening, which raises the question of this object’s function. The many other Islamic figurines were probably used for pouring water, but this piece seems to be a unique survival of a small free-standing sculpture.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Fritware, possibly moulded in two halves, with a transparent glaze (now degraded) |
Brief description | Fritware figurine of a bull with his tail curled through his hind legs, Syria (possibly Raqqa), about 1200. |
Physical description | Figure of a bull standing on a rectangular base with the tail curled through his hind legs. With a thoracic hump and a pronounced dewlap. Fritware, possibly moulded in two halves (there is a crack down the middle of the spine) before attachment to the base; transparent glaze, now almost entirely turned through burial an opaque silvery-mushroom colour. |
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Subject depicted | |
Summary | This unique ceramic sculpture depicts a horned bull with a pronounced dewlap, standing on a rectangular base, with his tail curled round between his hind legs. A ring of mounds runs round the edge of the base, suggesting the boundary of a pen. There is no discernible opening, which raises the question of this object’s function. The many other Islamic figurines were probably used for pouring water, but this piece seems to be a unique survival of a small free-standing sculpture. |
Bibliographic reference | Tim Stanley ed., with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London, V&A Publications, 2004, pp. 49-50, pl. 64. |
Collection | |
Accession number | C.36-1980 |
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Record created | February 11, 1998 |
Record URL |
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