The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Griffin Protome
625–575 BCE
Location: 102B Greek
Did You Know?
Fossilized Protoceratops dinosaur bones may lie behind the eagle/lion form of the mythical griffin.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.- -1927(Ludwig Pollak, Rome, Italy, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1927-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Benson, J. L. 1960. “Unpublished Griffin Protomes in American Collections.” Antike Kunst 3 (2): 58–70. Pl. 2.6. www.jstor.org
- Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).
- {{cite web|title=Griffin Protome|url=false|author=|year=625–575 BCE|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.146