Details

LOT 0136

Roman Terracotta Lion Rhyton

LATE 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

8 in. (1.5 kg total, 20.5 cm high including stand).

Modelled naturalistically in the round in an advancing pose with face, muzzle and tooth detailing within the open mouth, the tufts of the animal's mature mane individually rendered; filling hole on the back; the mouth open acting as a spout; North African workmanship; mounted on a custom-made display stand.

Provenance

with Sotheby’s London, 9 December 1994, no.221.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Accompanied by copies of relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11797-206532.

Literature

Cf. Richter, G.M.A., Animals in Greek Sculpture, Oxford, 1930, pp.3ff; Toynbee, J.M.C., Tierwelt der Antike, Mainz-Rhine, 1983, pp.54ff.; Padgett, J.M. (ed.), Roman Sculpture in the Art Museum Princeton University, Princeton, 2001, p.257, no.97; Liverani, P., Spinola, G., Vaticano, La Sala degli animali nel Museo Pio-Clementino, City of Vatican, 2003.

Footnotes

The lion was famously featured in many ancient myths, perhaps the most famous being that of Hercules (Herakles) slaying the Nemean lion for his first labour, but it was also linked with the cult of the goddess Cybele, where it is usually represented sculptured in relief on either side of her throne.