Bronze Statuette of a Bull

The small statuette, made of solid-cast bronze, depicts a bull, possibly in motion, as suggested by the raised left foreleg. The animal’s head, turned to the left, features pointed horns, with small tufts of hair visible in the central area. The ears are rounded, the eyes large and well defined, and the muzzle elongated, with prominent nostrils. The body is powerful, with a muscular neck marked by folds of the hide. The tail is curled around itself, with its terminal part resting on the animal’s back.

The statuette was part of a group of six bronze figurines found in the domestic shrine (lararium) of one of the houses of Copiae. According to some scholars, the bull may represent an effigy of the god Apis, worshipped in the city at the sanctuary of Eastern deities identified in the archaeological area of Casabianca.