A GREEK 'MEDUSA' SILVER APPLIQUÉ, CLASSICAL PERIOD, 5TH CENTURY BC
A GREEK 'MEDUSA' SILVER APPLIQUÉ, CLASSICAL PERIOD, 5TH CENTURY BC
Published: John Boardman, 'Greek Art', in Mark Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, 2011, catalogue, p. 72, no. 60.
Exhibited: Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art), June 2011-2016, inventory number MMoCA.666.
Skillfully chased and embossed, the oval silver plaque depicting the frontal head of Medusa, with wide, staring eyes beneath arched brows, prominent cheeks, and a grimacing mouth exposing teeth and a protruding tongue. Small curls frame the forehead, while longer locks descend beside the face, flanked by coiling serpents. Enclosed within a rope-pattern border and pierced along the edge for attachment.
Art Loss Register: ALR reference S00119496. A copy accompanies the lot.
Provenance: A private collection in France. The private collection of Christian Levett, France, acquired from the above via the New York art market and subsequently on permanent exhibition at the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), France. Ariadne Galleries, New York and London, acquired from the above in 2016. A private collection in the United States, acquired from the above. Copies of the invoice from Ariadne Galleries dated 2 February 2017 and a Research Summary written by Ariadne Demirjian of Ariadne Galleries, confirming the attribution and dating above, accompany this lot. Christian Levett (b. 1970) is a British commodities trader-turned-collector whose passion for collecting began in childhood. After building early collections of medals, art, and natural history books, he turned to antiquities in the early 2000s, quickly establishing himself as one of the most active private collectors in the field. In 2011, he founded the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art) in southern France, where antiquities are exhibited in dialogue with works by modern and contemporary artists influenced by the classical tradition. Since retiring from commodities in 2016, Levett has devoted himself full-time to art and philanthropy, sponsoring academic scholarships and supporting archaeological excavations, including at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. Founded in 1972, Ariadne Galleries is a leading international dealer in ancient art, with galleries in New York and London. Specializing in Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Eurasian, Near Eastern, and Byzantine works, the firm counts major museums and private collectors among its clients. Ariadne is active at prestigious art fairs such as Frieze Masters, The Salon Art + Design, and TEFAF New York, and also hosts annual exhibitions in London.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, manufacturing irregularities, traces of weathering, encrustations, expected tarnish, light warping, small dents.
Weight: 9.1 g (excl. stand), 69.9 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Size 6.2 x 7.6 cm (the appliqué), Height 9 cm (incl. the stand)
With an associated wood stand. (2)
The terrifying face of the gorgon was intended to protect, confronting evil with an image more fearsome than itself. Known as the gorgoneion, the frontal gorgon head became one of the most powerful apotropaic motifs in the ancient Greek world. Its direct, unwavering stare was fundamental to its effect: unlike the profile figures so familiar in Greek narrative art, the gorgon confronted the beholder. Her image appeared on temples, armor, vessels, jewelry, and coins, extending its protective presence across both public and private life.
Medusa was the only mortal of the three gorgon sisters, the others being Stheno and Euryale. Her gaze could turn those who encountered it to stone, and even after Perseus beheaded her, the severed head retained its supernatural power. He ultimately presented it to Athena, who placed it upon her aegis, making the vanquished monster an emblem of divine protection. The gorgoneion thus embodied a compelling paradox: the very force that threatened destruction could also serve as a guardian.
Beginning in the fifth century BC, Greek artists increasingly endowed Medusa with human beauty, yet the older, fearsome type continued alongside these idealized representations. The present silver appliqué preserves the force of that earlier tradition, its emphatic frontality giving the small ornament a commanding presence. Piercings for attachment suggest that it was originally secured to clothing or another object, carrying the gorgon's protective image into the immediate surroundings of its owner.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related Greek gilded-silver appliqué depicting a gorgoneion, South Italy, dated 525-500 BC, 3.7 cm high, in the J. Paul Getty Museum, accession number 96.AM.110.11. Compare a related Greek bronze breastplate depicting the head of a gorgon, dated late 6th-5th century BC, 41 × 44 cm, excavated by N. I. Veselovsky and now in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, inventory number Ku 1914 8/1. Compare a related Greek lead ornament in the form of a gorgoneion, dated 6th-5th century BC, 1.9 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 24.195.137.
A GREEK 'MEDUSA' SILVER APPLIQUÉ, CLASSICAL PERIOD, 5TH CENTURY BC
Published: John Boardman, 'Greek Art', in Mark Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, 2011, catalogue, p. 72, no. 60.
Exhibited: Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art), June 2011-2016, inventory number MMoCA.666.
Skillfully chased and embossed, the oval silver plaque depicting the frontal head of Medusa, with wide, staring eyes beneath arched brows, prominent cheeks, and a grimacing mouth exposing teeth and a protruding tongue. Small curls frame the forehead, while longer locks descend beside the face, flanked by coiling serpents. Enclosed within a rope-pattern border and pierced along the edge for attachment.
Art Loss Register: ALR reference S00119496. A copy accompanies the lot.
Provenance: A private collection in France. The private collection of Christian Levett, France, acquired from the above via the New York art market and subsequently on permanent exhibition at the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), France. Ariadne Galleries, New York and London, acquired from the above in 2016. A private collection in the United States, acquired from the above. Copies of the invoice from Ariadne Galleries dated 2 February 2017 and a Research Summary written by Ariadne Demirjian of Ariadne Galleries, confirming the attribution and dating above, accompany this lot. Christian Levett (b. 1970) is a British commodities trader-turned-collector whose passion for collecting began in childhood. After building early collections of medals, art, and natural history books, he turned to antiquities in the early 2000s, quickly establishing himself as one of the most active private collectors in the field. In 2011, he founded the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art) in southern France, where antiquities are exhibited in dialogue with works by modern and contemporary artists influenced by the classical tradition. Since retiring from commodities in 2016, Levett has devoted himself full-time to art and philanthropy, sponsoring academic scholarships and supporting archaeological excavations, including at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. Founded in 1972, Ariadne Galleries is a leading international dealer in ancient art, with galleries in New York and London. Specializing in Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Eurasian, Near Eastern, and Byzantine works, the firm counts major museums and private collectors among its clients. Ariadne is active at prestigious art fairs such as Frieze Masters, The Salon Art + Design, and TEFAF New York, and also hosts annual exhibitions in London.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, manufacturing irregularities, traces of weathering, encrustations, expected tarnish, light warping, small dents.
Weight: 9.1 g (excl. stand), 69.9 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Size 6.2 x 7.6 cm (the appliqué), Height 9 cm (incl. the stand)
With an associated wood stand. (2)
The terrifying face of the gorgon was intended to protect, confronting evil with an image more fearsome than itself. Known as the gorgoneion, the frontal gorgon head became one of the most powerful apotropaic motifs in the ancient Greek world. Its direct, unwavering stare was fundamental to its effect: unlike the profile figures so familiar in Greek narrative art, the gorgon confronted the beholder. Her image appeared on temples, armor, vessels, jewelry, and coins, extending its protective presence across both public and private life.
Medusa was the only mortal of the three gorgon sisters, the others being Stheno and Euryale. Her gaze could turn those who encountered it to stone, and even after Perseus beheaded her, the severed head retained its supernatural power. He ultimately presented it to Athena, who placed it upon her aegis, making the vanquished monster an emblem of divine protection. The gorgoneion thus embodied a compelling paradox: the very force that threatened destruction could also serve as a guardian.
Beginning in the fifth century BC, Greek artists increasingly endowed Medusa with human beauty, yet the older, fearsome type continued alongside these idealized representations. The present silver appliqué preserves the force of that earlier tradition, its emphatic frontality giving the small ornament a commanding presence. Piercings for attachment suggest that it was originally secured to clothing or another object, carrying the gorgon's protective image into the immediate surroundings of its owner.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related Greek gilded-silver appliqué depicting a gorgoneion, South Italy, dated 525-500 BC, 3.7 cm high, in the J. Paul Getty Museum, accession number 96.AM.110.11. Compare a related Greek bronze breastplate depicting the head of a gorgon, dated late 6th-5th century BC, 41 × 44 cm, excavated by N. I. Veselovsky and now in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, inventory number Ku 1914 8/1. Compare a related Greek lead ornament in the form of a gorgoneion, dated 6th-5th century BC, 1.9 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 24.195.137.
