Demon with Bowl

The large-scale bronze sculpture is part of Damien Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable series, first exhibited at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

Standing at just over eighteen metres, this monumental figure is presented as a copy of a smaller bronze said to have been recovered from a mythical shipwreck. In the story, the discovery of the body appeared to solve the mystery of a disembodied bronze head with saurian features reportedly excavated in the Tigris Valley in 1932.

Characterised by gaping jaws and bulbous eyes, the head was initially identified as Pazuzu, the Babylonian ‘King of the wind demons. Yet this identification has been called into question, as the figure lacks Pazuzu’s customary attributes of wings, scorpion tail and snake-headed staff.

Ancient Mesopotamian demons were often imagined as hybrid beings inhabiting a realm between the human, animal and divine. Their roles could be protective as well as destructive, reflecting the complexity of ancient beliefs. The bowl in the figure’s outstretched arm has been interpreted in different ways but may have symbolised ritual offering or guardianship.

See the sculpture for yourself, seeing is believing! Demon with Bowl is located along Edmund Halley Way, next to the IFS Cloud Cable Cars.