• r2-44-10
    Relief fragment with rearing animal, side view. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)

Relief Fragment with Rearing Animal

Date
5th-4th C. BC?, Late Lydian (Persian)?
Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
S66.001
Material
Marble, Stone
Object Type
Sculpture
Sculpture Type
Animal, Relief
Site
Sardis
Sector
B
Trench
BE-H 66
Locus
B BE-N
B-Grid Coordinates
E28.70 / N84.20 *97.50
Description

The thick relief block shows an animal charging or rearing to the l. Only the body remains; most of the neck, legs, and tail are broken off. Perhaps the tail curved over the back since there is a trace of the end in the appropriate position. According to J.K. Anderson, the genitals are like those of an equid. The big folds on the very thick neck (dewlap), however, fit a bull rather than a rearing stallion. Over the buttock on the background is a faint trace of a broken-off bit of another figure, perhaps a paw (of a lion?). The rearing animal may have been attacked by a lion from behind.

The piece has very fine chisel work; it is smoothed over except at the front and rear. This might be a fragment of architectural sculpture; the thickness of the relief would fit a frieze. The date is probably 5th C. B.C.

Condition

White marble.

Broken on all sides. Torso, upper part legs, and genitals survive. Unpolished.

Dimensions
P.H. 0.16; L. 0.26; Th. 0.13; D. of relief 0.065. Bull: P.H. 0.13; P.L. 0.235.
Comments
For bulls, cf. Sardis X, 15ff., pl. IV, fragment of tile with rear end of bull. Richter, Animals, 20-22, pls. 33-34; 19, pl. 27:81, similar genitals of donkey.
See Also
Bibliography
Author
GMAH