RX010
Roman marble griffin.
2nd-3rd century AD
H. 13 cm (5 1/8 in.), L. 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Fragment from a group sculpture, possibly with Apollo. Broken at bottom part of right front leg, missing back legs and tail, chipped at left eye and at tip of left wing. Fine glossy surface.
Ex. Françoise Caune Collection 1970
$16,500.
The Griffin, a mythological hybrid creature, combining the forepart of an eagle and the body of a lion, is crouching and moving to the left, its body with diagonal movement and its head turned in the same direction. The left foreleg is approaching forward, and the right one is set backward. Its wings are lifted close together above its head. The head with a pair of long pointed ears, with the high mane between. Its arched eagle’s beak is slightly opened, to reveal its curling tongue.
The eagle’s face with fierce and concentrated expression. The lion’s body is slim and powerful in a lively movement.
The Griffin was a common motif in the Greek and Roman art. It was depicted as the guardian next to a sacred element, and with the god Apollo.
For Greek examples of griffins see:
Goodnick Westenholz, J., (Ed.) Jerusalem, 2004, p.111, nos. 67-68.
Or: Comstock, M., and Vermeule, C. C., Greek, Etruscan & Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Greenwich, Conn. 1971, p. 38, no. 36.
For Roman Griffin on marble sarcophagus see:
Vermeule III C.C., and Comstock M.B., Sculpture in Stone. The Greek, Roman and Etruscan, Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1976, p. 192, nos. 305-306.
For Roman wall paintings see:
Goodnick Westenholz, J., (Ed.) Jerusalem, 2004, pp. 116-117, nos. 74-75.
Comstock, M., and Vermeule, C. C., Greek, Etruscan & Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Greenwich, Conn. 1971
Vermeule III C.C., and Comstock M.B., Sculpture in Stone. The Greek, Roman and Etruscan, Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1976
Dragons Monsters and Fabulous Beasts, Ed. Goodnick Westenholz, J., Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem, 2004
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