Year 12 Ancient History - Minoan Research Task
Year 12 – Ancient History
Minoan Research Task
Minoan Bull-leaper Statue
The Minoan Bull leaper is a bronze statue of a bull and leaper, the statue is currently housed in the British Museum. The statue is made from bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin. It contains about 96% copper and 1.5% tin, with about 1% zinc. The statue measures 15.5cm in length, 11.4cm in height and 4.7cm in width. Although bull leaping certainly took place in Crete during the time that the statue was created, the leap that is depicted in the statue is practically impossible. This has led to the speculation that the leap depicted is exaggerated. This speculation is supported by testaments from modern day bull leapers from France and Spain. The technique used for the casting of the sculpture is called “lost-wax casting” whereby a wax model is made and then subsequent castings are made. Due to the composition of the sculpture, it would have been difficult for the bronze to fill the mold; this resulted in the missing lower legs of the leaper and probably the arms. The statue has not been restored in anyway and has been left in the same condition of that Arthur Evans excavated it in.
The Bull Leaper statue was excavated possibly in Rethymno, Crete and first published by Arthur Evans in his “Journal of the Hellenic Studies”. He dated it to the Late Minoan 1 Period, around the 1600 BC and during the New or Second Palace Period. This is when the Minoan civilization was at its heights and the second palaces were being built.
The Bull-leaper statue is very significant to our overall understanding of the Minoan civilization, culture, and religion. Firstly, it is a known fact that bull leaping took place in Minoan Crete, and the discovery of the statue helps to solidify this fact. Secondly, the leap that is depicted in the sculpture is highly exaggerated and by human standards practically impossible. This lends to the idea that the bull leaper was seen as something more than
Minoan Research Task
Minoan Bull-leaper Statue
The Minoan Bull leaper is a bronze statue of a bull and leaper, the statue is currently housed in the British Museum. The statue is made from bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin. It contains about 96% copper and 1.5% tin, with about 1% zinc. The statue measures 15.5cm in length, 11.4cm in height and 4.7cm in width. Although bull leaping certainly took place in Crete during the time that the statue was created, the leap that is depicted in the statue is practically impossible. This has led to the speculation that the leap depicted is exaggerated. This speculation is supported by testaments from modern day bull leapers from France and Spain. The technique used for the casting of the sculpture is called “lost-wax casting” whereby a wax model is made and then subsequent castings are made. Due to the composition of the sculpture, it would have been difficult for the bronze to fill the mold; this resulted in the missing lower legs of the leaper and probably the arms. The statue has not been restored in anyway and has been left in the same condition of that Arthur Evans excavated it in.
The Bull Leaper statue was excavated possibly in Rethymno, Crete and first published by Arthur Evans in his “Journal of the Hellenic Studies”. He dated it to the Late Minoan 1 Period, around the 1600 BC and during the New or Second Palace Period. This is when the Minoan civilization was at its heights and the second palaces were being built.
The Bull-leaper statue is very significant to our overall understanding of the Minoan civilization, culture, and religion. Firstly, it is a known fact that bull leaping took place in Minoan Crete, and the discovery of the statue helps to solidify this fact. Secondly, the leap that is depicted in the sculpture is highly exaggerated and by human standards practically impossible. This lends to the idea that the bull leaper was seen as something more than