Head of an ox

2nd half 17th century · Sculpture · 124 × 56 cm

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Waar is „Head of an ox” nu? Victoria and Albert Museum, Europe 1600-1815, Room 6, The Lisa and Bernard Selz Gallery, Londen. Ja, nu te zien. Gecontroleerd 25 september 2026.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Londen, Verenigd Koninkrijk

ZaalEurope 1600-1815, Room 6, The Lisa and Bernard Selz Gallery

Sluit binnenkort· tot 22:00

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Gecontroleerd: 14 dagen geleden
Ongewijzigd sinds: 25 sep 2026
Bron: Het museum

Op de kaart Museumpagina

Over de sculptuur

This head of an ox, carved in marble and resting on a wooden tree trunk, contains an unusual curiosity. In the centre of the ox's head is a cavity in which rests a 'stone' identified as an osteoma, a new piece of bone growing on another (typically a skull) which was originally thought to be the fossilised or petrified brain of an ox. This may have been based on an event in Padua in 1670, when a hardened mass of bone was discovered inside a slaughtered ox.

The discovery created a sensation, as it was believed that the brain of the animal had become petrified during its lifetime. In 1933, the Natural History Museum confirmed that the huge osteoma displayed here was organic and likely to be a piece of diseased bone from a large mammal, such as an elephant or whale.

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The sculpture may once have belonged to the Querini family at the Villa Altichiero in Padua, although there is no firm documentary evidence. Its theatricality was typical of the seventeenth-century fascination with naturally occurring oddities, particularly within the context of the noble and scholarly collections, where artistic objects sat alongside the naturalia they sought to emulate. This unusual sculpture, with its varied textures and bizarre subject-matter, would have provided a dramatic talking point.

Victoria and Albert Museum