Details

LOT 0414

Post Medieval Mirror with Centaur 'Kitovras'

16TH-17TH CENTURY A.D.

4 in. (153 grams, 10.1 cm).

Discoid with ribbed border and central raised pellet, motif of a winged centaur holding a square shield and a staff(?), foliage motif to the background; pierced three times to the rim.

Provenance

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Footnotes

This version of a centaur was known as ‘kitovras’, an old Russian version of the word ‘kentauros’. He is typically portrayed with the body of a horse and the torso and head of a man, often featuring prominent wings and wearing armour. Kitovras is best known from a legend, ‘The Tale of Solomon and Kitovras’, in which he is tricked into building the temple for King Solomon. While held in captivity, Kitovras tells Solomon how to obtain the stone needed to build the temple and stays with him through its completion. When Solomon doubts Kitovras’ strength, Kitovras throws him to the edge of the Promised Land, but the king eventually returns and takes back the throne.