The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2024

Vessel Ornament of Reclining Lyre-player

Vessel Ornament of Reclining Lyre-player

probably 400–375 BCE
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The lyre held by this banqueter bears traces of gilding.

Description

This bronze banqueter figurine was one of six once adorning the rim of a large basin, now lost. Cast in molds with individualized details, most have grooves on their underside to attach to the basin. Minute traces of gilding remain on areas of clothing and skin (mostly visible only under magnification), suggesting that they may have been completely gilded. Two handles in the form of hippocampi, horses with serpentine tails, also belonged to the basin and are now displayed at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. The basin may have been used to hold liquid for a banquet, or was perhaps funerary.

This reclining banqueter holds a lyre in his left hand and an oblong pick in his right hand. His face tilts toward the lyre and garlands hang around his head and chest. Two bare feet emerge from the bottom of the himation in a position distinct from the feet of the other figurines in this group. Some gilding remains on the top edges of the lyre and on the banqueter’s lips and drapery.
  • ?-1908
    Collection of the Marchese di Riofreddo e Gagliardi
    ?-1943
    William R. Hearst, sold to Brummer Gallery
    1943-1949
    Brummer Galleyr, New York, NY, sold to H.K. Montif
    1949-
    H.K. Montif
    ?-1986
    Ella Bache Brummer Collection, New York, NY, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1986
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Casa di Vendite Jandolo et Tavazzi (Rom). Catalogo delle pregevoli collezioni di oggetti d'arte e mobili antichi, spettanti al Signor Marchese di Rioffreddo ed ai Signori Gagliardi di Firenze. [1], [1]. 1908. No. 517
    The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N5415 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
    Galerie Koller Zürich. The Ernest Brummer Collection, Vol I: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art. 1979. No. 547E, cat: 95-97
    GALERIE SPINK (Zurich). The Ernest Brummer Collection: Galerie Spink, Zürich. London: Spink and Son, 1979. p. 25
    Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1986." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (1987): 38-79. Cat No. 17 www.jstor.org
  • Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=Vessel Ornament of Reclining Lyre-player|url=false|author=|year=probably 400–375 BCE|access-date=24 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.185