Earring with bull head terminal

Ptolemaic Period

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 predate those that have bead added to the collar of the earring behind the bull head.

Earring with bull head terminal, Gold

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10.130.1503 (left); 10.130. 1502 (right)