Winged Bull Sculpture

What is it?

Many large sculptures like this one were created to guard the entrances to palaces in the ancient Middle East.

Where could I find it?

Multiple figures can be found around the Assyrian wing of the British Museum in London.

What is it made of?

The large statue is mostly gypsum, an inorganic material.

How big is it?

This Winged Bull stands 309 centimeters tall and 315 centimeters long.

What could happen to it?

The placement of these statues in the museum make them extremely vulnerable to direct physical force. When I visited, I was surprised to find these creatures framing hallways for visitors to walk through. I thought surely they must be replicas. Upon further investigation, I learned they were not replicas and they were, in fact, out in the open inviting millions of guests to bump their bags into them, step onto them, fall into them, brush against them, scratch them, and overall beat them up.

Where can I learn more?

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=367019&partId=1&searchText=winged+bull&page=1