Large Roman Bronze Mythical Cockerel-Headed Snake

4TH CENTURY A.D.

3 1/2 in. (260 grams, 88 mm).

The upper body, neck and head of a mythical basilisk, modelled in the round with the body of a serpent and head of a cockerel, the body with a tapering round-section profile, stylised detailing to the head.

Provenance

‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.

Literature

Cf. Alexander, R.McN., 'The Evolution of the Basilisk' in Greece & Rome, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Oct., 1963), pp. 170-181, for discussion on it; cf. a possible head of Roman basilisk in Stupperich, R., ‘Antiken der Sammlung W.W.’ in Boreas, 12, 1989, pp.231-248, no.20.

Footnotes

The basilisk was a Graeco-Roman mythical two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a cock's head. It had the reputed ability to kill people by either looking at them, touching them, or sometimes breathing on them. According to legend a basilisk would die instantly upon hearing a rooster crow or looking at itself in a mirror.

CONDITION

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