This bronze cast Applique in the shape of the Bust of Herakles is slightly hollow in the lower part. Given its semicircular outline, it is thought to have been part of a bed decoration (fulcrum).
This small, beautiful object is composed of two elements: a parallelepiped that serves as a base for two statuettes of young bulls, whose bodies are merged together and placed head to toe. The animals are seated on the floor, their legs folded under their bodies. In spite of the stylization of the figurines, partly related to their miniature size, the artist skillfully rendered the proportions, the position and anatomy of the bulls. The delicate expression of their muzzle and their somewhat thick appearance certainly tend to imitate the naivety and clumsiness of a young animal.
This face certainly represents a male figure; it shows some of the distinctive features of the Greek-Roman images known as “grotesque”, such as the big aquiline and pointed nose, the strongly marked, frowning eyebrows and the wrinkled forehead.