Day 64 - Cypriot chimera
June 29, 2018
Gallery 175 centers on the art of Cyprus during the classical period. It contains a small but (presumably) select number of limestone grave steles, column capitals, and statues.I particularly like a small statuette of a dog attacking a hare - so lifelike you can practically see, and certainly imagine, the terror on the hare's face as the dog sinks its jaws into its back.There's also a terracotta head of a man whose curly hair, beard, and mustache are indicated by stylized spirals - there must be a hundred of these spirals, all told.
I chose today's object because of its weirdness; I've never seen anything like it before. It's a limestone footstool, a bit less than 3 feet long and maybe 9 inches high, that dates from the first half of the 5th century B.C.E. At the center of the carving on the side is depicted a chimera, a mythical creature that's part lion, part she-goat, and part snake (here the lion's curling tail). The lion's mouth is open, its tongue and teeth clearly visible; it looks pretty fierce. What's particularly strange is that the placid she-goat emerges frim the lion's back; her horns break the rectangular frame of the carving. Apparently, the chimera was represented in different ways in different places; this one hails from the Cypriot settlement of Golgoi. For what it's worth, the caption explains that Golgoi was, according to legend, founded by someone from a Greek city, Sikyon, where coins depicting the chimera in this way were found. Whether or not the founding myth is true, it would seem to suggest some relationship between the Greek city and this area of Cyprus.
In contrast with this dramatic image, the rosettes that flank it are bland.
I chose today's object because of its weirdness; I've never seen anything like it before. It's a limestone footstool, a bit less than 3 feet long and maybe 9 inches high, that dates from the first half of the 5th century B.C.E. At the center of the carving on the side is depicted a chimera, a mythical creature that's part lion, part she-goat, and part snake (here the lion's curling tail). The lion's mouth is open, its tongue and teeth clearly visible; it looks pretty fierce. What's particularly strange is that the placid she-goat emerges frim the lion's back; her horns break the rectangular frame of the carving. Apparently, the chimera was represented in different ways in different places; this one hails from the Cypriot settlement of Golgoi. For what it's worth, the caption explains that Golgoi was, according to legend, founded by someone from a Greek city, Sikyon, where coins depicting the chimera in this way were found. Whether or not the founding myth is true, it would seem to suggest some relationship between the Greek city and this area of Cyprus.
In contrast with this dramatic image, the rosettes that flank it are bland.
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