Earring with head of a bull

Ptolemaic Period
2nd–1st century B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Earring with head of a bull
  • Period: Ptolemaic Period
  • Date: 2nd–1st century B.C.
  • Geography: Probably from Egypt
  • Medium: gold
  • Dimensions: As Worn: H. 3.7 × W. 4.1 cm (1 7/16 × 1 5/8 in.)
  • Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
  • Object Number: 30.8.395
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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