Cleveland Museum of Art

Mule-Head Attachment for a Couch

Date

200–100 BCE

Medium

bronze

Culture

Greece, Hellenistic period

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This bronze attachment in the shape of a mule’s head was once part of a fulcrum (armrest) for a banqueting couch. The mule’s mane flies upward, its mouth open and its ears pushed back against its head. The mule wears an ivy garland and a saddlecloth made from panther skin, two elements associated with the wine god Dionysos. The pattern on the panther skin, called a meander, was also extremely popular on Greek pottery.

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