Griffin Protome

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About the Item

A Greek protome in the shape of a griffin, with a flanged base for attachment to the shoulder of a cauldron via the three rivets. The sinuous serpentine neck leads to the head of an eagle, with a wide-open beak and pointed tongue. The elliptical eyes are cut through for inlays. A round top knot rises from the crown of the head. The base of the remaining ear reveals that it followed the standard form of the ears seen in other griffin protomes: a long vertical outturned ear, which is frequently compared to that of a hare or a horse. Incised details of overlapping scales run the length of the neck. This protome evinces the Greek griffin, with its bird and serpent-like features, which differs from the Near Eastern leonine version of the creature. Griffins featured in Greek art since the Aegean culture of the Bronze Age, but returned en masse in the 7th and 8th centuries following the Geometric Age, in what became known as the Orientalising Period. Trade of goods and raw materials, such as tin, meant that Greek craftsmen were exposed to Near Eastern iconography, techiniques, and materials, and adopted them into their own work. Artists looking to reintroduce figural forms into their work turned to countries like Assyria and Anatolia for inspiration. Some scholars have argued that griffin protomes were imported into Greece from the Near East, despite the lack of archaeological evidence to support this. Others have argued that the griffins were produced by eastern craftsmen living in Greece, and others that they were a solely Greek creation. Evidence suggests that griffin protomes were manufactured at Samos, Olympia, Etruria, and they have also been found in Athens, Argos, Ephesus and Rhodes. This protome would have been part of a group of identical bronzes that would have been attached to the shoulder of a large, circular bronze cauldron supported by a bronze tripod. These cauldrons were costly objects, and were frequently dedicated to sanctuaries of gods and goddesses. In his Histories, Book 4, Chapter 152, Herodotus describes how the first Greek to land in Iberia, Kolaios, dedicated ‘a bronze vessel in the shape of an Argive crater; griffin heads projecting all around the rim’ to Hera on his return to Samos (c. 650 BC). It is possible that griffin protomes were thought to have apotropaic properties. According to myth, griffins lived far away in the north and east, building their nests near sources of gold which they guarded closely. They are also associated with good eagle demons who drove away evil eagle demons and thus protected people from illness and death. The use of griffin cauldrons as burial urns may be tied to these beliefs. Published Antonio García y Bellido, Los hallazgos griegos de España (Madrid, 1936), pp. 22-23, pl. 1 Antonio García y Bellido, ‘La colonización phókaia en España des de los orígenes hasta la batalla de Alalíe (siglo VII -535)’, in Empúries: revista de món clàssic i antiguitat tardana (1940: 2), p. 55, pl. 1, fig. 2 Antonio García y Bellido, Archäologische Ausgrabungen und Forschungen in Spanien von 1930 bis 1940, in Archäologischer Anzeiger (Berlin, 1941: 1/2), p. 223 Antonio García y Bellido, Hispania Graeca (Instituto Espanol de Estudios Mediterraneos, Barcelona, 1948), p. 83, pl. 2 Provenance Private Collection, Madrid, by repute, acquired in Madrid in 1933. Thence by descent. Madrid art market, acquired from the above in 2022. Private Collection of Mr. Carlos Piñel Sánchez, Zamora, acquired from the above in 2022. Spanish art market, acquired from the above in 2022. ALR: S00218751, With IADAA Certificate, this item has been checked against the Interpol database.

Dimensions:
Height: 4.73 in (12 cm)Width: 1.58 in (4 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze
Place of Origin:
Greece
Period:
15th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
Circa 7th Century B.C.
Condition:
Repaired: Missing one ear and the end of the other. Minor losses. Green and brown patination across the surface.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU5517242131162

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