A CARVED IVORY GROUP DEPICTING CYBELE IN HER LION-DRAWN CHARIOT , seated at the rear of the chariot, wearing a crown in the form of a castle, holding a tambourine in her right hand and a large key in her left, a quiver of arrows at her feet, the chariot pulled by two lions and driven by a winged cherub, on a rectangular base carved to simulate tiles and on a black-painted stepped rectangular plinth, mid-19th Century

Details
A CARVED IVORY GROUP DEPICTING CYBELE IN HER LION-DRAWN CHARIOT , seated at the rear of the chariot, wearing a crown in the form of a castle, holding a tambourine in her right hand and a large key in her left, a quiver of arrows at her feet, the chariot pulled by two lions and driven by a winged cherub, on a rectangular base carved to simulate tiles and on a black-painted stepped rectangular plinth, mid-19th Century

the group: 13¾in. (35cm.) wide overall; 10in. (25.4cm.) high; 6¼in. (15.8cm.) deep
the plinth: 4in. (10cm.) high

Lot Essay

The present carved ivory depicts Cybele, the ancient Phrygian 'earth mother' who ruled over all nature. In antiquity, Cybele, as here, was represented wearing a turreted crown, the normal attribute of the Asiatic mother goddess, and riding a chariot drawn by a pair of lions. This image is retained throughout the Renaissance period with the addition of the key and sometimes a sceptre or globe.

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