Sculpture, testa di bugranio - 48 cm - Plaster

Mythological gypsum statue depicting a man's head and a bucranium, a decorative element for the Cult of the Mother Goddess.

On one side a young hunter, on the other side the bucranium, or ox skull, present in Roman monuments and in Greek sacred contexts. The bucranium was used as early as Mesopotamian ceramic of the 4th millennium BC and in Egyptian funerary painting of the 2nd millennium BC.

During the past two centuries the foundries have enjoyed a remarkable flourishing period. Their subjects, besides collectors, were also purchased by travelers as luxury souvenirs.

The subject is the second of a series of three made at the time.

Dimensions: 48x23x24 cm
Provenance: Italy
Epoch: late 20th Century