The Bear of Porcuna is a sculpture dated from the 1st century BC depicting a bear or a lioness leaning on a ''

herma A herma ( grc, ἑρμῆς, pl. ''hermai''), commonly herm in English, is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height. Hermae we ...

''. It is exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, Spain. The artifact was found in 1926 in

Porcuna Porcuna is a village and municipality in the province of Jaén in Andalusia, Spain, 42 km from Jaén and 50 km from Córdoba. The primary occupation of the 6,990 inhabitants is olive growing. The main tourist attractions are the tower o ...

—the Roman ''Obulco''—, most specifically in the calle del Sepulcro, during the building works of an oil mill. The animal (a bear or a lioness) is depicted resting on its hindquarters. The animal is leaning its front left leg on a ''

'', featuring a beardless male head. The presence of the ''herma'' in the composition strongly suggests a Roman-era dating. Regarding the Roman hypothesis, there are tentative datings from either the time of Augustus or somewhat later in the

Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang= Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type=Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estat ...

. It unmistakably served a funerary purpose.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * 1st-century BC sculptures Archaeological discoveries in Spain Stone sculptures in Spain Collection of the National Archaeological Museum, Madrid Sculptures of bears {{Spain-sculpture-stub