{
"data": {
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"accession_number": "1928.861.1",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Guardian Griffin, 1150\u20131175. Northern Italy, Emilia, 12th century. Pink limestone (called \"Verona Marble\"); overall: 75.9 x 50.2 x 120.7 cm (29 7/8 x 19 3/4 x 47 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1928.861.1",
"current_location": "106B Romanesque & Gothic Sculpture",
"title": "Guardian Griffin",
"creation_date": "1150\u20131175",
"creation_date_earliest": 1150,
"creation_date_latest": 1175,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Northern Italy, Emilia, 12th century"
],
"technique": "pink limestone (called \"Verona Marble\")",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Medieval Art",
"collection": "MED - Romanesque",
"type": "Sculpture",
"measurements": "Overall: 75.9 x 50.2 x 120.7 cm (29 7/8 x 19 3/4 x 47 1/2 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.759,
"height_inch": 29,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.875,
"width": 0.502,
"width_inch": 19,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.75,
"depth": 1.207,
"depth_inch": 47,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.5
}
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"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 309634,
"title": "Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders",
"description": "Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 7-October 6, 2019).",
"opening_date": "2019-07-07T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "CMA 1991: \"Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum (Cleveland, OH, The Clevleland Museum of Art), cat. p. no. 25.",
"opening_date": "1991-01-01T00:00:00"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "said to have come from the residence of a Cardinal Leona, east of Bologna.",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": null,
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"description": "Griffins are fabled creatures that have the characteristics of an eagle and a lion--combining watchfulness and courage. In Christian art, the dual nature of the griffin was often used to signify that of Christ himself: divine (bird) and human (animal). Griffins were often used as guardian figures in church sculpture and were placed in portals and choir screens. The creatures seen here, with their inward-turning heads, were certainly used for such a purpose. When viewed from the front, one griffin may be seen protecting the figure of a knight between its paws, while the other griffin guards a calf. Their original function was probably to support the columns of a porch in front of a church doorway.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60780018"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1928.861.1-guardian-griffin"
]
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"citations": [
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 56",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n76"
},
{
"citation": "McClanan, Anne L. Griffinology: The Griffin\u2019s Place in Myth, History and Art. London, UK: Reaktion Books Ltd, 2024.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 82, fig. 51",
"url": ""
}
],
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"updated_at": "2026-05-29 05:51:57.340000"
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