Cattle : history, myth, art
Although heavily depended on by humankind for millenia, cattle are less widely studied and admired than they deserve to be. Beautiful, varied and with individual personalities, they appear far more extensively in art, mythology and religion than one might first think. Cattle have been exploited in many forms of sport and entertainment, from ancient Minoan bull-leaping to the modern Spanish bullfight and water-buffalo racing in Malaysia. Ancient Egyptians worshipped the cow-goddess Hathor, and the Graeco-Roman world was rich in legends involving cattle. In Hinduism the species is still regarded as sacred. This book illustrates this rich subject through a wide range of objects from the collections of the British Museum, ranging from Palaeolithic drawings to the Pantheon Frieze, and from Pictish carvings to modern prints and drawings
Print Book, English, ©2011
British Museum, London, ©2011