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Griffin pillar, overview. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
Griffin Pillar
Report 2: Sculpture from Sardis: The Finds through 1975
(1978)
Cat. 218
- Date
- 1st or 2nd C. AD, Roman
- Museum
- Manisa, Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum, 4086
- Museum Inventory No.
- 4086
- Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
- S59.022
- Material
- Marble, Stone
- Object Type
- Sculpture
- Sculpture Type
- Furnishing, Animal
- Site
- Sardis
- Sector
- HoB
- Trench
- HoB
- Locus
- HoB House of Bronzes Room 11A
- B-Grid Coordinates
- E20 / S60 *99.63
- Findspot
- HoB, standing on floor.
- Description
The griffin pillar consists of a head and winged neck growing out of an acanthus plant. This in turn curves into a lion’s foot below. The griffin head has pointed ears and an open roaring mouth with tongue hanging out. His great curving chest and neck issue forth at the sides into short wings curving back towards the pillar. The leg is vividly and plastically modeled.
There is a circular shallow cutting (D. 0.01) in the top of the pillar. The pillar is flat on the back. There is no striking use of the drill, but rather careful chisel work and smoothing.
- Condition
Marble. Yellowish surface, possibly local.
Part of top flat table support missing; left toe broken off. Heavily covered by brown discoloration.
- Dimensions
- H. 0.785; W. at chest 0.14; D. at chest 0.265, at foot 0.255
- Comments
- See Also
- Bibliography
- For more heavily maned lions, see Richter, Furniture of the Greeks, fig. 577, dated to the later Imperial age (p. 112); Budde-Nicholls, Fitzwilliam Catalogue, no. 181, pl. 61. For the Greek prototype, see Richter, ibid., figs. 372-376.
- Author
- NHR