CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK TERRACOTTA LION HEAD SPOUT
CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.
From the sima of a Doric temple, molded with a two-tiered mane of flame-like locks, with pointed leaf-shaped ears, the deep-set lidded eyes beneath knitted brows, the snout bisected by a shallow furrow, the muzzle defined by curving incised lines, the mouth open and framed by ridged lips, the fangs exposed, the tongue lolling and concave, preserving extensive original pigment, including black for the eyes, red for the tongue, lips and mane, and black and red on the concave molding above
10½ in. (26.6 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired by the current owner's family, southern France, in the late 19th-early 20th century; thence by descent in 1976.

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Lot Essay

For related examples compare the sima preserving five lion head spouts from Kaulonia in Calabria, now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, and the single lion head spout in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Crotone, nos. 84c and 82a in Mertens-Horn, Die Löwenkopf-Wasserspeier des griechischen Westens im 6. u. 5. Jahrhundert vor Chr.

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