Costitx bull

Forms part of a set of three bull heads found in the 19th century in a sanctuary associated with a Talayotic settlement. The Talayotic culture belongs to a prehistoric period in the Balearic Islands. The shrine was a rectangular space with columns that have no architectural function but that possibly served to support the heads. These types of columns are related to the representation of eastern Mediterranean divinities. The fact that they were used for hanging bull heads helps us interpret them as representations of a divinity of Mediterranean scope and the cult of the bull. In this head, the horns and eyes have been made independently. It is hollow with a thick exterior. An iron bar would have been placed through it to hang it. The details of the eyebrows, eyes and hair were crafted cold using a chisel. The eyes may have been filled with glass paste.