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Lion's head waterspout
Greco-Roman
Medium/Technique
Marble, crystalline Greek, probably from Attica
Dimensions
Height: 18.5 cm (7 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William de Forest Thomson
Accession Number18.445
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 303.
DescriptionA section of upper molding remains, with a fillet and flat top. Otherwise, the head is broken on all edges, around the lion's head and mane.
The form of this lion's head is conventional to Greek sculpture from the fourth century B.C. into the Roman imperial period. This example from the sima molding of a building would seem to belong to the Hellenistic or Graeco-Roman periods in Greece. A date in the imperial age, perhaps around A.D. 125 to 175, is suggested by the free use of a rough drill in cutting out the lion's mane.
The form of this lion's head is conventional to Greek sculpture from the fourth century B.C. into the Roman imperial period. This example from the sima molding of a building would seem to belong to the Hellenistic or Graeco-Roman periods in Greece. A date in the imperial age, perhaps around A.D. 125 to 175, is suggested by the free use of a rough drill in cutting out the lion's mane.
ProvenanceFrom Athens or mainland Greece and/or the Aegean islands (?).