This Staffordshire pearlware figure portraying Europa and the Bull was made circa 1800. Europa is, of course, the personification of Europe.
In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess. Zeus, king of the gods, spied Europa gathering flowers near the sea shore. Smitten by her beauty, he wanted to seduce and ravish her. Being a god, he had a unique solution to the problem: he approached Europa disguised as a docile bull, and when Europa clambered upon the bull's back to adorn his horns with garlands, he plunged into the ocean and bore her off to Crete, where Zeus made her Queen of Crete. And that's how Europa gave her name to the continent that includes the Greek mainland.
Extant artworks depicting the myth of Europa and the bull predate the Christian era; by the seventeenth century, the subject was particularly well represented in European art.
In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess. Zeus, king of the gods, spied Europa gathering flowers near the sea shore. Smitten by her beauty, he wanted to seduce and ravish her. Being a god, he had a unique solution to the problem: he approached Europa disguised as a docile bull, and when Europa clambered upon the bull's back to adorn his horns with garlands, he plunged into the ocean and bore her off to Crete, where Zeus made her Queen of Crete. And that's how Europa gave her name to the continent that includes the Greek mainland.
Extant artworks depicting the myth of Europa and the bull predate the Christian era; by the seventeenth century, the subject was particularly well represented in European art.
By the eighteenth century, Europa and her bull were also depicted in English porcelain. As early as 1751, a soft paste English porcelain figure from the “Girl–in-a-swing” factory portrayed the myth. A porcelain prototype possibly inspired this earthenware figure.I know of only one example. In the moral climate of the early 1800s, figures portraying myths associated with passion and eroticism were probably unsuitable for our potters’ target customers. Today, that would not be a problem!
