Once upon a time, there was a boar. The boar may have gotten into a loud disagreement with the local bull, or escaped butchers during a chase through the market, but it somehow caught the attention of the Florence–based sculptor, Pietro Tacca, who became immediately obsessed with capturing its furry, proud stance on flat surfaces. As the court sculptor under the employment of the influential Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the artist was a master of marble, pietre dure (coloured stones), terracotta and ebony, but when it came to immortalising the boar leaping through the baroque arts scene, he chose bronze. 

Much like the energetic subject of the masterpiece, bronze is independently durable, being far less brittle compared to marble or iron. It also provides the advantage of speed, expanding right before it sets in the casting process, thus rapidly filling in the fine details with a mind of its own. Also, noting that boars possess a natural affinity for companionship, garden trampling mobs included, bronze's adaptability allows for multiple identical versions to be made from a single original work in contrast to stone, which leans towards the subtractive process of carving.