Wild Boar

Unknown artist

late 6th century BCE

Leaded bronze

Arthur M. Sackler Museum

A bronze sculpture of a wild boar stands with its head turned slightly to the left. The sculpture exhibits a green patina with reddish-brown undertones. Represented in an alert position, almost as if stopped in its tracks, this wild boar appears to be facing an opponent, either another wild animal or, more likely, a hunter, such as Meleager. Its front legs are stretched out and the proper right legs are positioned ahead of the left ones. Perhaps the most striking feature is the ridge of long upright bristles running along the animal’s spine, with a gap at the center of the back. The pointed ears sit high on the head, the front of the snout is turned up, and the tail is curled up above the prominent scrotum. Although eyes and tusks are preserved, the now pitted surface means that it