Greek Pair Of Bronze Handles

$1,262.96

A substantial pair of cast bronze vessel handles, each with flat-section bows. The terminals take the form of satyrs’ faces with ornate beards.

Date: 5th Century BC
Condition: Fine condition.

In stock

In ancient mythology, satyrs were lustful and drunken gods of the woodland, and depicted in typical Greek iconography as men with the ears and tails of a horse. In Roman art, however, they were represented as rather more animalistic, as men with the ears, tail, legs, and horns of a goat. On these handles, it is the beards that identify the faces as those of satyrs: they are unkempt and unruly, as were the satyrs themselves.

Such handles would probably have been affixed to a vessel, most likely also made of bronze. The motif of the drunken satyr might suggest that this vessel had a role in the symposium (a male drinking party).

 

Weight 670 g
Culture

Metal

Region

Greek Mythology

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