Griffin Protome from a Cauldron

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Griffin Protome from a Cauldron

Place of OriginGreece, reportedly from Macedonia

Dateabout 600 BCE

Dimensions5 3/8 × 2 3/8 × 2 5/8 in. (13.7 × 6 × 6.7 cm)

MediumCast bronze with incised decoration.

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1980.8

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis is a cast bronze protome (bust) of a mythical griffin, formerly an attachment for a large cauldron. The creature is depicted with a long, sinuous neck covered in a precise, punched scale pattern. It has a beaked head with an open, "screeching" mouth and a protruding tongue. The head features tall, upright ears, large, hollow eye sockets that once held inlays (now lost), and a knob with a bud-shaped terminal on its forehead. The surface is enriched with finely incised details, including parallel strokes along the eye sockets and mouth. The protome retains a fragment of the original cauldron wall attached to its flanged base by four ancient rivets. The surface has a cuprite green and azurite blue patina.

Label TextThis bronze creature, a mythical griffin, once guarded a large bronze cauldron. In ancient Greece, such cauldrons were valuable gifts dedicated to the gods at sanctuaries like Olympia and Samos. Believed to live in the far north guarding hoards of gold , the griffin combines an eagle's head, tall ears, and a serpentine neck covered in scales. This example is one of the finest of its kind, remarkable for its superb condition and precise, feather-like details. It was cast in bronze around 600 B.C. and still has four original rivets and a fragment of the cauldron it was attached to. This protome was reportedly found in Macedonia with three others from the same set.Published ReferencesThe Museum Collects: Treasures by Sculptors and Craftsmen, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 1980, pp. 6-7, repr. p. 6.

Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, 2009, repr. (col.) p. 69.

Exhibition HistoryToledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, The Museum Collects: Treasures by Sculptors and Craftsmen, December 7, 1980 - January 25, 1981.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art; Tampa, Tampa Museum of Art, The Fire of Hephaistos: Large Classical Bronzes from North American Collections, 1996-1997.