A ROMAN MARBLE OWL
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 2… 顯示更多 VARIOUS PROPERTIES
A ROMAN MARBLE OWL

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

細節
A ROMAN MARBLE OWL
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Standing on integral base with left leg advanced, head erect with prominent brow feathers raised, eyes wide, beak open to reveal tongue, plumage naturalistically modelled with full chest and heavy tail feathers, talons spread
20½ in. (52 cm.) high
來源
Private collection, Charleroi, Belgium, 1960s.
Art market, UK, 1985.
Private collection, London, 1992.
注意事項
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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拍品專文

The symbolic attribute of the goddess Athena and of her Roman counterpart Minerva, the owl represents the goddess' judicious wisdom, famous in Graeco-Roman mythology. In Athens, the cult of Athena - the city's patron deity - was central to the religious fabric of the city as well as across Greece; in Rome, together with Jupiter and Juno, Minerva formed part of the Roman Capitoline Triad, worshipped in the elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill, the Capitolium, as the supreme protectors of the city and of the Empire.

Owls appear on the coinage of Athens as well as on countless black- and red-figured vases. In Roman art, owls also appear in sculpture (for example cf. D. Boschung and H. von Hesberg, Die antiken Skulpturen in Newby Hall, Wiesbaden, 2007, no. N2), but a marble owl of this scale and quality is a rare survival. It is likely that this sculpture was dedicated in a temple to Athena, perhaps in Rome, to delight and thank the goddess, and encourage her continued protection.

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