Mule-Head Attachment for a Couch

200–100 BCE
Overall: 20.4 x 18.3 cm (8 1/16 x 7 3/16 in.); with base: 25.4 cm (10 in.)
Location: 102C Greek
Public Domain
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Did You Know?

The pattern on the panther skin, called a meander, was also extremely popular on Greek pottery.

Description

This bronze attachment in the shape of a mule’s head was once part of a fulcrum (armrest) for a banqueting couch. The mule’s mane flies upward, its mouth open and its ears pushed back against its head. The mule wears an ivy garland and a saddlecloth made from panther skin, two elements associated with the wine god Dionysos.
Mule-Head Attachment for a Couch

Mule-Head Attachment for a Couch

200–100 BCE

Greece, Hellenistic period

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