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Notes
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A life-size bronze cow laying down to rest. The gold-horned beast looks down river towards the Cathedral. It sits on a base of six square slabs of stone and is surrounded by three cog-like ceramic sculptures, based on the cross-sections of the Cathedral columns. Burton's idea for the 'Durham Cow' took root in the early 1990s when he was invited to execute a sculpture for another city site. However the project fell through and it wasn't until 1996, when additional funding became available through the Visual Arts Year budget, that the commission was finally realised. Despite the fact that the cow or ox, which takes an ambiguous form suggestive of a hybrid of western and occidental beasts, is intended not to be seen as a 'specifically Christian piece', the sculpture makes obvious references to the story of the Dun Cow.
Title
Durham Cow
Date
1997
Medium
bronze
Measurements
H 180 x W 180 x D 270 cm
Accession number
DH1_KM_S001
Acquisition method
commissioned by the City of Durham Council
Work type
Statue
Owner
City of Durham Parish Council
Custodian
City of Durham Parish Council
Work status
extant
Unveiling date
15th July 1997
Access
at all times
Signature/marks description
front right leg: ANDREW BURTON
Inscription description
on stone slab nearby: DURHAM COW / LEGEND WOULD HAVE YOU RUMINATING UP BY THOSE / MASSIVE PILES BUT WHAT COW PREFERS A ROCKY MOUND / TO A RIVER BANK AND WHO BELIEVES THAT STORY OF A / DREAM AN OX TWO MILKMAIDS SOME FOOTSORE MONKS AND A HAPHAZZARD ENCOUNTER THAT PUT STOP TO THEIR ENDLESS ZIGZAGGING AND SEED A BUILDING BEYOND ALL THEIR COLOSSAL IMAGINING. HERE AND NOW YOU SEEM REAL ENOUGH / Andrew Burton 1997