I don’t really want to (boar) the pants of you, but, this particular black boar sits in front of the Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street. The hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in Australia,  dating back to 1788.  The Boar, “Il Porcellino” (Italian for “piglet”) is actually a bronze copy of the Florentine boar and was donated to the Sydney Hospital in 1962.

In regards to the original (according to Wikipedia): Il Porcellino  is the fountain figure sculpted and cast by Baroque master Pietro Tacca (1577 –1640) shortly before 1634. Its creation is associated  with the Calydonian Boar of Greek myth. The original bronze was intended for the Boboli Garden, but it later moved to the Mercato Nuovo in Florence.

I have asked my local ‘snout’ to find out as to whether Sydney-siders have adopted the Italian tradition of putting a coin into the boar’s gaping jaws, with the intent to let it fall through the underlying grating for good luck. But so far, I haven’t heard a single ‘oink’.

For further examples of sculpture and street art analysis see check out this page.

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