Archaic II

Limestone Bull Sacrifice Figurine

Grey limestone figure of a bull with two attendants, painted. Group on a plinth; a bull led to sacrifice by two attendants. Of the first attendant only the right and an onset of the left hand are remaining, placing a twisted garland round the bull's neck; a circular hole in the bull's side might have held the connecting part for the first attendant. The second, behind the first, is placing his right hand on the bull's back; his head is missing. The bull is slender and its body rather elongated, his dewlaps and hackles are shown as incised parallel folds, the dewlaps merging into a pointy line in the front. An upside-down triangle is marking the forehead, the horns are strong, the rounded ears are turned upward, the large eyes are framed by two layers of skin like eyebrows; the tail resembles a horse's tail. The second attendant is standing to the animal's left, putting his right outstretched arm on the bull's back. His left arm is bent and kept in his matle's sling, the hand is clenched into a fist, the thumb is stretched out. His cloak goes down to his ankles. What is left of his hair is shown as a thick mass with rounded edges, below there is a tounge-like form, which is supposedly the typical folds found on the back. In contrast to the careful rendering of the bull, the attendants are presented rather schematically. Traces of red paint are remaining on the bull's ears, between nostril and ear, on top of both vessels and on the mantle of the attendant, running from the left wrist to the left shoulder; the directions of the paint on the back is less clear. Dimensions: Height: 8 centimetres max ; Length: 9.10 centimetres max ; Width: 5.65 centimetres max Object Type: figure Series: Nick Type 3 (Sub group 3.2) Techniques: painted