Earring with head of a bull

Unknown

2nd–1st century B.C. · gold · Egyptian Art

Hoops formed of wound wire with animal head terminals are the commonest type of Hellenistic earring. The bull-head earring appears throughout the Mediterranean, probably a positive image because of the physical and sexual prowess attributed to bulls. Examples like this one with a gold or stone bead incorporated into the collar behind the animal's head date mostly to the second and first centuries B.C.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd–1st century B.C.

Medium

gold

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915