LOT 0025

Greco-Parthian Panther Figurine with Foliage

1ST CENTURY BC-2ND CENTURY AD

6 1/4" (289 grams, 16cm).

A bronze figurine of a pouncing panther with forelegs extended, tail curled around the left rear leg, head erect with mouth open; fur texture to the body and limbs, swathe of coiled foliage and tendrils to the neck, tufts of fur to the mane and chin; possibly a handle, executed in Hellenistic style.

Property of a French gentleman living in London; formerly in a European collection; acquired prior to 1981. Supplied with a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate.

Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate.

See discussion in Pfrommer, M. Metalwork from the Hellenized East. Catalogue of the Collections, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1993.
For a similar piece see Eisenberg. J, Art of the Ancient World, New York, 2011, no. 207.

Similar examples to this have been found with a dish attached the the forepaws which would indicate that the body of the panther acted as a handle for a incense burner. The inclusion of foliage around the animal, most likely ivy and vines, would suggest that the object was used in ceremonies associated with Dionysus, to whom the panther, ivy and vine was sacred. Dionysiac images, such as panthers, grapevines, and dancing females, were absorbed by the Parthians from the Greeks and continued to appear in the art of Near Eastern cultures in the Sasanian period.