Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

PAIR OF AMAZING LARGE BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA GRIFFINS 20th century

About the Item

LARGE BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA GRIFFINS 20th century Copy of ancient Renaissance griffins. Impruneta terracotta. Made in Tuscany HEIGHT 73 cm WIDTH 30 cm DEPTH 64 cm WEIGHT 25 kg MANUFACTURING Made in Tuscany MATERIAL Terracotta The griffin is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. The greatest frequency of representation of this hybrid creature is found in Minoan/Mycenaean and Greek art, however some archetypal figures, or in any case correlated to it, are found in various civilizations of the Mediterranean and Anterior Asia, and it takes its name from the griffin also called gringo or cignardo. In Egypt, the oldest depiction that can recall a griffin can be observed on the "palette of the two dogs", from the predynastic period (5,500 - 3,100 BC), found in Hieracompolis. While there are no further known representations of him throughout the Old Kingdom, he reappears in some tombs of high officials near Beni Hasan and Bersheh in the Middle Kingdom. Another possible archetype of the griffin could instead be identified in the terrible Anzû, personification of storm wind and rain, represented or mentioned since the 3rd millennium BC. in the Sumerian reliefs found near Telloh, although he was represented not with the head of an eagle, but of a lion. Another creature with a similar description is Asakku, also a spirit of the storm, a demon who brings diseases and illnesses[5]. In Mesopotamian mythologies, creatures made up of the union of several predatory animals or snakes were demons or divinities with nefarious characteristics. Fresco with Griffin in the throne room at Knossos. This hybrid figure slowly spread in the imagination of various populations, also due to the syncretism that characterized the religions of the time, but not without differentiating and adapting to the cultural and mythological context; for example, the griffins in the throne room of Knossos, in Crete, are distinguished by being wingless, by the voluminous feathers that overlook the eagle's face and by the generic feline body, more similar to the leopard than the lion. Overall, they were quite common in Minoan/Mycenaean art. Among the Greeks he was linked to the solar cult, playing the role of companion-servant of Phoebus or Apollo. In one of the Greek myths the griffins were in eternal struggle against the fabulous northern people of the Arimaspi who attempted to kidnap the treasure of Apollo guarded by them. In Athens the figure of the griffin was also made popular due to its adoption as a symbol by the Achaemenid dynasty. Famous are the two griffins of Ascoli Satriano in polychrome marble, presumably the work of a master from Daunia or Apulian Magno Graecia; these are depicted with large colored wings and not those of a bird of prey, an eagle's beak, a snake's neck or in any case reptilian, a lion's body. It found an almost definitive form in the Greek collective imagination after 400 BC. with the diffusion of two works, The Histories (Ἰστορίαι, Historìai) by Herodotus of Halicarnassus (described as an inhabitant of the mountains between the Hyperboreans and the Arimaspis, where he kept the gold of the North) and with The History of Persia (Περσικά) by Ctesias of Cnidus.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Width: 11.82 in (30 cm)Depth: 25.2 in (64 cm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Style:
    Baroque (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    20th Century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. very good condition.
  • Seller Location:
    Madrid, ES
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU5779243556852

More From This Seller

View All
AMAZING LARGE BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA GRIFFINS 20th century
Located in Madrid, ES
LARGE BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA GRIFFINS 20th century Copy of ancient Renaissance griffins. Impruneta terracotta. Made in Tuscany HEIGHT 73 cm WIDTH 30 cm DEPTH 64 cm WEIGHT 25 kg MANUF...
Category

20th Century Italian Baroque Busts

Materials

Terracotta

AMAZING LARGE BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA GRIFFINS 20th century
Located in Madrid, ES
LARGE BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA GRIFFINS 20th century Copy of ancient Renaissance griffins. Impruneta terracotta. Made in Tuscany HEIGHT 73 cm WIDTH 30...
Category

20th Century Italian Baroque Busts

Materials

Terracotta

Beautiful Pair of Eagles Large Terracotta Impruneta 20th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of Eagles Large Terracotta Impruneta 20th Century Height (Cm) 90 Dimensions (Cm) 59x46 Base Dimensions (Cm) 28x23 Weight (Kg) 28 very good condition
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Modern Animal Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Pair of Signed Terracotta Pots, 20th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of signed terracotta pots. 20th Century terracotta pots signed by the author: ortega. Very decorative. Each one measures: 60x20x19 cm. Good condition.
Category

20th Century Italian Baroque Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Amazing Pair of Vases Decorated with Fauns Terracotta Impruneta end 20th century
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of Vases Ornato Cariatidi Terracotta Impruneta Internal Diameter (Cm) 48 External Diameter (Cm) 58 Height (Cm) 43 Base Dimensions (Cm) 28 Weight (Kg) 24 Vaso Ornato Cariatidi ...
Category

20th Century Italian Modern Animal Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Amazing Pair of Vases Decorated with Fauns Terracotta Impruneta end 20th century
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of Vases Decorated with Fauns Terracotta Impruneta end 20th century Internal Diameter (Cm) 55 External Diameter (Cm) 65 Height (Cm) 55 Dimensions (Cm) 70 Weight (Kg) 50 Vase D...
Category

20th Century Italian Modern Animal Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

You May Also Like

Guan Yu. Terracotta. 20th century.
Located in Madrid, ES
Guan Yu. Terracotta. Twentieth century. Polychrome terracotta sculpture in brown and black tones that shows a man in armor and a long, bushy beard. Depicts Guan Yu (Kuong Kong) (Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, 160-Nanzhang, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, 219), courtesy name Yunchang, who was a military general under Liu Bei during the late Han dynasty of East and the Three Kingdoms Period of ancient China...
Category

20th Century Unknown Other Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Pair of Early 20th Century Spanish Painted Terracotta Figurines
Located in Dallas, TX
These antique terracotta figurines were created in Spain, circa 1920. Each figure depicts a finely crafted bust sculpture of a man and a woman, both holding amphora-style vessels on ...
Category

Early 20th Century French Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Pair of 20th Century French Seated Terracotta Mastiff Dogs
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A matched pair of 20th Century French seated terracotta mastiff dogs. Their painted finish is incredibly detailed and their glass eyes ever alert. Their tense bodies show their stron...
Category

Early 20th Century French Victorian Animal Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta, Paint

Religious Subject Terracotta, Italy, 20th Century
Located in Milano, IT
Terracotta sculpture depicting Madonna with child.
Category

20th Century Italian Other Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Early 20th Century Terracotta Horse
Located in Dallas, TX
Gorgeous terra cotta statue dating back to the 1900s. Origin; China.
Category

20th Century Chinese Animal Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

20th Century French Terracotta Sculpture
Located in High Point, NC
This evocative 20th Century French Terracotta Sculpture captures a moment of struggle and resilience. The earthy, raw terracotta forms the shape of a figure seemingly in the process ...
Category

20th Century French Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Recently Viewed

View All