id: 160294
accession number: 1998.172
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1998.172
updated: 2023-03-15 15:46:31.457000
Kriophoros (Ram-Bearer), Statuette, 650–600 BC. Greece, Crete, 7th century BC. Terracotta and polychrome; overall: 17.5 x 9.6 x 8 cm (6 7/8 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1998.172
title: Kriophoros (Ram-Bearer), Statuette
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 650–600 BC
creation date earliest: -650
creation date latest: -600
current location: 102B Greek
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: Greece, Crete, 7th century BC
technique: terracotta and polychrome
department: Greek and Roman Art
collection: GR - Greek
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 17.5 x 9.6 x 8 cm (6 7/8 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Intimate Rituals and Personal Devotions: Spiritual Art Through the Ages
opening date: 2000-07-16T00:00:00
Intimate Rituals and Personal Devotions: Spiritual Art Through the Ages. Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL (organizer) (July 16, 2000-January 14, 2001).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. "Intimate Rituals and Personal Devotions: Spiritual Art Through the Ages" 8/12/00 - 1/14/01
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PROVENANCE
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fun fact:
This heroic figure is shown presenting a ram, most likely as a sacrificial offering to a god or goddess.
digital description:
wall description:
In Greek art, the kriophoros is usually a shepherd or, later, Hermes. This statuette may be unique in presenting a warrior-hero as kriophoros. It is certainly one of the earliest sculptural representations of this type. The figure appears to be wearing a helmet, secured under the chin with a painted strap. Double outlines, reinforced at the bottom with incision and adorned with dotted circles in the area of the nipples, were used to suggest breastplates. A thick waist belt, decorated with painted crosshatched lines, is clearly the heroic zoster (warrior's belt). As described in ancient Homeric poetry, the zoster is the ultimate symbol of valor and prowess, worn by such heroes as the brothers Agamemnon and Menelaos and old King Nestor. This figure is shown in the solemn act of presenting a ram, most likely as a sacrificial offering, to a god or goddess.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art, “New Cleveland Indian Arrives at the CMA,” November 27, 1998, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
page number:
url: https://archive.org/details/cmapr4223
Bennett, Michael, "Poussin’s Holy Family", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 10, December 1999
page number: Mentioned & reproduced: p. 6-7
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMM1999-10/page/n5
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 78
url:
Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.
page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 12
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1998.172/1998.172_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1998.172/1998.172_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1998.172/1998.172_full.tif