Cattle: History, Myth, Art
Catherine Johns
British Museum Press, 2011
192pp, 200 colour illustrations
Hardback, £25
Catherine Johns's new book follows on from her two previous highly successful ones on horses (2006) and dogs (2008). It is in a much larger format than its predecessors, though it follows the same style of presentation. Cattle do not create the same response or identification in the popular mind as horses or dogs, but their influence and role in human civilisation are far more important, even if rather overlooked. Dr Johns puts this right in her illuminating and thought-provoking Introduction, headed 'Cattle and Human Society'. There we are led from the earliest representation in the prehistoric caves at Lascaux through many cultures, seeing cattle in the wild to the domestication of selected breeds, many simply as status symbols or for the purpose of display.
She examines the various attitudes of man to cattle – as objects of awe and worship, as as the living epitome of deities, as objects to be used for sport or the entertainment of mass audiences in spectacles many of which are repugnant to modern sensibilities (and which still persist in some areas, such as modern Spain). One has only to recall legends such as that of Theseus and the Minotaur and perhaps link it with the bull-leaping seen on Minoan frescoes to realise how far back into the past some elements of the use of cattle go.
Cattle make their appearance in various guises in all the mythologies, religions and folklore of the world. Bulls have always been associated with power and strength but pride of place must go to the cow, so much the symbol of motherhood, fertility, the supreme Mother Goddess. The place of cattle in the food chain has been of prime importance since prehistory. It is not always recognised that once the food aspect has been met nothing of the remaining parts is wasted in a multitude of uses.
Under a series of apposite headings the relationship between people and cattle throughout history up to modern times is examined and illustrated in images and objects drawn from the incomparable collections of the British Museum. Some are well-known classic examples of their genre but rarely seen and interpreted in the context as here or in relation to their counterparts in other cultures, even centuries or millennia apart.
The larger format chosen for Dr Johns's work, and her judicious selection of the material, has produced a book that is not only visually appealing, but also a paean in praise of cattle upon which so much of our world and way of living resides. As such it is a joy to read and reasonably priced.
Peter A Clayton
