id:			108980
accession number:	1927.146
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1927.146
updated:		2022-01-04 15:06:16.569000

Griffin Protome, 625-575 BC. Greece, Ionian, 6th Century BC. Bronze; overall: 13.9 cm (5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund 1927.146

title:				Griffin Protome
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			625-575 BC
creation date earliest:		-625
creation date latest:		-575
current location:		102B Greek
creditline:			The Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Greece, Ionian, 6th Century BC
technique:	bronze
department:	Greek and Roman Art
collection:	GR - Greek
type:		Metalwork
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 13.9 cm (5 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Images of the Mind
	opening date:   1987-07-07T04:00:00
	<i>Images of the Mind</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Ludwig Pollak, Rome, Italy, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: -1927
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1927-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
Fossilized <em>Protoceratops</em> dinosaur bones may lie behind the eagle/lion form of the mythical griffin.

digital description: 
This bird-like head and neck, with sharp beak and tongue, belongs to a griffin, a fantastic bird/lion hybrid prominently found in both Greek and Near Eastern artwork. Often, as here, the griffin has large upright ears (probably feline, in keeping with its lion body) as well as a knob-like projection atop its head. The scaly neck terminates in a flange once pierced with holes for connection to the shoulder of a large bronze cauldron, which would have been ornamented with three or more such griffins.

wall description: 
This bird-like head and neck, with sharp beak and tongue, belongs to a griffin, a fantastic bird/lion hybrid prominently found in both Greek and Near Eastern artwork. Often, as here, the griffin has large upright ears (probably feline, in keeping with its lion body) as well as a knob-like projection atop its head. The scaly neck terminates in a flange once pierced with holes for connection to the shoulder of a large bronze cauldron—not unlike the later one displayed here beside it—which would have been ornamented with three or more such griffins.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Benson, J. L. 1960. “Unpublished Griffin Protomes in American Collections.” Antike Kunst 3 (2): 58–70.
	page number: 	Pl. 2.6.
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/41318521

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1927.146/1927.146_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1927.146/1927.146_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1927.146/1927.146_full.tif