A Suckling Woman

A Suckling Woman represents the cult statue of Artemis of Ephesus with a wreath made of bull testicles around her neck.

A Suckling Woman. 2021, mixed media, 33 x 27,5 cm.

The famous statue of Artemis of Ephesus has many breasts, or as breasts they are still perceived today. However, Austrian researchers have questioned this interpretation. They does not present a woman’s breasts but the testicles of a bull. On the feast day of Artemis, oxen were castrated, and wreaths were made of their testicles, which were hung around the neck of the statue of the goddess.