17th Century Italian 'Florence Fragment' "Arrows" with Fossil Agate Coral

17th century Italian fragment base mounted with a large stromatolite and adorned fossil rose coral. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was fo...

17th century Italian church vase with fossilized coral, a double crystal point on an agate base. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the historic...

17th century Italian 'Florence Fragment' base from Tuscany topped with a naturally formed coral head. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the Fl...

18th century Italian fragment with fossil agate coral and Herkimer diamonds on a lucite base. Fossil agate coral is mounted on top of the artifact. Fossil agate coral is Florida's s...

An absolutely stunning set of two 17th century architectural fragments from Venice, Italy. Beautifully carved in giltwood with a pomegranate motif, a symbol of resurrection and the h...

A delightful 17th century Northern Italian "Haut De Chapiteau" - architectural fragment - beautifully carved from polychromed wood and presented on its iron stand. Wonderfully decora...

Antique 17th-18th century Italian carved wood seated saint figure fragment with beard. Possibly earlier. Remains of paint or pigments in multiple layers. Arms and one leg missing, old damage to nose and other areas. Mounted on vintage base...

Cerberus Black painted stone Italy, 17th century Measures: 80 x 69 x 36cm (one head missing) Cerberus, cruel monster, fierce and strange, Through his wide threefold throat barks as a dog Over the multitude immers'd beneath. His eyes glare crimson, black his unctuous beard, His belly large, and claw'd the hands, with which He tears the spirits, flays them, and their limbs Piecemeal disparts (Dante, Inferno, Canto VI). Cerberus figure seated, in his role of ferocious guardian of the underworld; he shows a nervous musculature, an adherent skin which reveals the ribs, long and robust limbs; his heads are broad and the eyes set well apart. Painted in black to amplify his menacing look, the infernal guardian is depicted with his famous attributes, writhing his heads, growling and barking furiously. Cerberus, in Greek mythology, was the monstrous watchdog of the underworld – also known as the “hound of Hades” – preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left. A child of Typhon and Echidna, he was part of a monstrous family, which included Orthus, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Chimaera as well. Only on three occasions Cerberus was tricked by visitors of Hades: Heracles did it with his strength, Orpheus with his music. In "The Inferno", Dante places Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of Hell. With his three mouths, Dante saw Cerberus as a beast that was synonymous with the sin of Gluttony. Virgil gets past the monster by throwing mud in his three mouths, temporarily choking him. Very rare are the representations of Cerberus in ancient statuary...