(19th century)

The Farnese Bull, after the Roman copy of a Hellenistic marble statue excavated in the Baths of Caracalla in 1545, named for Pope Paul III Farnese (1534-1549), patinated bronze, 19 x 17 x 17 in.

Notes: Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 8:

“Antiopa of Euripides (which Ennius wrote): Antiopa was the daughter of Nycteus, king in Boeotia; entranced by her great beauty, Jupiter [Zeus] made her pregnant. When her father wished to punish her on account of her disgrace, and threatened harm, Antiopa fled. By chance Epaphus [i.e. Epopeus], a Sikyonian, was staying in the place to which she came, and he brought the woman to his house and married her. Nycteus took this hard, and as he was dying, bound by oath his brother Lycus, to whom he left his kingdom, not to leave Antiopa unpunished. After his death, Lycus same to Sicyon, and slaying Epaphus [Epopeos], brought Antiopa bound to Cithaeron. She bore sons, and left them there, but a shepherd reared them, naming them Zetus and Amphion. Antiopa had been given over to Dirce, Lycus’ wife, for punishment. When opportunity presented itself, she fled, and came to her sons. But Zetus, thinking her a runaway, did not accept her. Dirce, in the revels of Liber [Dionysos], was brought to the same place. There she found Antiopa and was dragging her to death. But the youths, informed by the shepherd who had reared them that she was their mother, quickly pursued and rescued their mother, but slew Dirce, binding her by the hair to a bull. When they were about to kill Lycus, Mercurius [Hermes] forbade them, and at the same time ordered Lycus to yield the kingdom to Amphion."

black patination with some rubbing and corrosion, grime, lacking a figure of a dog, casting flaw at base of arm at join, other small casting flaws, possibly lacking a square plinthe and rope from figure at left facing