FEATURES ARCHIVE

Animal Allegory
There is a fascinating array of creatures, great and small, in the upcoming Antiquities sale. Crossing cultures and media, these skillfully crafted objects have intriguing layers of symbolic meaning. Animals were an intrinsic part of life in the ancient world. Much of our knowledge of animals in antiquity comes from surviving images and texts, but these treasures offer a more tactile link to the past.

The Frog: Talisman of Fertility and Reincarnation
The Egyptian frog was a symbol of fertility and life. Following the annual flooding of the Nile, frogs appeared in great numbers. Thus, the Egyptian associated frogs with creation, birth and regeneration. The carved serpentinite of this particular example creates a wonderful mottled effect, ideal for the representation of the uneven skin of the frog.

Horse, Foal, Goat, Canine: Representing the ‘Bestial Forces’
This bronze, square belt plaque preserves the stylistic traditions of the Caucasus region. It incorporates relief images of a horse, with its foal charmingly tucked between its legs. Horses were heavily relied upon as work animals in the ancient world, and this one is bridled and reined. Above is a small goat with its impressively spiraling horns projecting and at the front of the horse is a menacing canine. It is thought that the scene represents the “bestial forces of the steppes, of the forest and of the mountains” (Zimmerman, Ancient Art from the Barbier- Mueller Museum, p.162). According to Head of Sale, Molly Morse Limmer, “the importance of the horse amongst the ancient nomadic tribes of the Steppes region is exemplified in the fact that they were often ritually buried with their owner.”

Cerberus: Guard to the Gates of Hades
This bronze sculpture represents the threeheaded hound of Greek and Roman mythology. Cerberus was the creature entrusted with the task of guarding the gates of Hades to prevent those who had crossed the river Styx from ever going back. Frequently depicted in ancient works of art and literature, this small but refined bronze example evokes the darkness of this beast of the underworld.

The Ibex: Symbol of Strength and New Life
The ibex—a wild mountain goat—was a popular motif in South Arabian art. Often, images of the animal are dominated by the massive spiraling horns. The ibex was a harbinger of spring and, by extension, new life. Similar depictions of ibexes have been found in a temple complex to the Semitic moon goddess Sin.

Deer, Hen, Swan: A Black-Figured Band-Cup
Animal friezes are one of the more popular motifs adorning Athenian black-figured drinking cups. At the center of each side of this cup is a siren facing right, between grazing deer, with a hen to the left and a swan with spread wings to the right. On one side is a gesticulating male figure, with a mantle over his arms. This example shows the incredible skill that Attic vase-painters possessed when working in this technique. This cup was cherished in antiquity, as evinced by the pairs of holes from ancient repairs that were once secured by metal clamps.