THE ABDUCTION OF EUROPE

A statue – a bull and a naked girl leaned on it – is exhibited in the memorial study of Hovhannes Toumanian Yerevan museum. The statue had its place on the bamboo bookcase for many years. It is an episode of an ancient Greek myth “the abduction of Europe”.

The huge bull is placed on a rectangular black flat pedestal, his head up. The young woman leaning on the bull is naked, her long hair is on her shoulders, the right arm is along the back of the bull, the left arm is folded, and the left foot is on a round stone. The stone is made of colored gypsum; the bull is black and the girl is bronze color. The statue is by unknown author with a factory stump – a symbolic three-dent image and ''760 JAMK''. The downside of the pedestal has a color of clay. On the pedestal of the statue a silver diagonal tin plate pinned with following engrave – «Յովհաննէս Թումանեանին մի խումբ  երիտասարդ  գրողներից 19 - 14/1 - 17» (To Johannes Toumanian from a group of young writers 19 - 14/1 – 17).

An Armenian writer and actor Pahare (Haik Petrosyan) left his memories of the presentation.

“It was January 14, 1917. It was a cold, snowy evening of Hovhannes Toumanian’s naming day. More than two dozen young writers got together in one of our friend’s apartment on Behbutyan N60, where prominent novelist Shirvanzade lived too. We bought a beautiful black statue of a bull – bronze girl leaned on it, and signed on a gold ribbon “To the dearest Hovhannes Toumanian from a group of novice writers”.

Since we couldn't go and congratulate everyone together, we solved the problem in this way. We had only three female writers in our group – poetesses Leyly, Armenuhi Tigranyan and Varsenik Aghasyan, whom we entrusted to present the statue to Toumanian, while we were waiting.  Toumanian’s apartment was near to our gathering place.

Soon instead of the returning of our delegation, Toumanian's delegate came with a threatening invitation;

‘’If all of you do not come I will return the gift”

More than twenty people were going up the marble stairs to the second floor of the house on Voznesenskaya N18 – hiding behind each other, shy and timid. The door was opened and we entered the bright hall of H. Toumanian – blushing from cold and shame.

The noise and stir toughened up for a moment, and then eased up, becoming cheerful.

Toumanian himself came over to each of us and set down around the table. They were dancing – Toumanian, Shirvanzade, Commander Andranik and others, jumping Qochari hand to hand. Slowly we got used to it and started to take part in the fest”.

Writer St. Zoryan wrote in his memoirs about that day, slightly messing up the date: “We, as young writers, didn’t stay out of Toumanian’s 50th birthday (The 50th birthday of the writer was in 1919): We presented a table bronze statue – a bull, a virgin leaning on it. What meaning had that gift and what was the tie with the poet's writings I couldn’t understand till now, but I remember we couldn’t find  more elegant gift in that days in Tiflis. When we took the gift to the poet's house, we were terrified about what if Toumanian suddenly wanted to know the meaning of that gift-statue, what answer would we give? We decided to say, ''It is just an ornament, nothing else'' … Fortunately, Toumanian didn't put us in a hard situation''

The statue depicts a legend from Ancient Greek mythology. According to that mythology the Europe was the daughter of Argenor, the king of Phoenicia. Cronu's son – powerful Zeus fell in love with her and decided to take her over. Zeus transformed into a magnificent bull – emitting golden rays. Lying humbly down at the feet of the princess who was having fun in the garden with her friends, he seems to be asking her to approach him. Europe sat on him, with joy – not assuming anything. At the very moment the bull jumped away into the sea – taking with him Europe who was begging for help. Zeus swims as a dolphin in blue waters of the sea and goes out on the shores of Crete. Europe gives birth to three sons for Zeus. As a sign of love Zeus presents to Europe the celestial constellation of Taurus.

In different centuries a series of famous painters and sculptors touched upon the myth of Zeus and Europe, for instance Titian, Rembrandt, Veronese, Boucher, Rubens, Dali, Serov, Matisse, Botero, Tokmajyan and many others.

The statue was presented to the museum by the poet's wife Olga Toumanian in 1952.

It is registered: GGTT 5/WB1. The length of the bull is 40 cm, the height of the girl is 29 cm, the pedestal: 32x15x3; the silver tin plate: 7x1.5, weight: 10kg, fineness: 84

Article by Սուսաննա Ադամյան

 Translated by Anahit Sringyan