Archaic II

Fragment of a limestone relief with a tree and birds of prey

The block, preserved in its full width, but broken both above and below, shows, in low relief, a tree with a narrow trunk. Branches with different kinds of leaves, some oval, some pointed, are grafted diagonally to the trunk—unless the oval ones represent fruit. Two birds, with summarily rendered wings and plumage and facing in opposite directions, stand in profile on two of these branches, now lost below the break. Their hooked beaks designate them as birds of prey. The one on the right, almost worked in sunk relief, is larger and more carefully worked. Overall: 14 1/8 x 10 1/8 x 4 3/8 in. (35.9 x 25.7 x 11.1 cm)

Date

499 - 475 BC

Accession No.

74.51.2667

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

From the Sanctuary of Golgoi-Ayios Photios, Cyprus

References

Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. p. 56, no. 830, pl. XIII.15, St. Petersburg: L’Académie Impérial des Sciences.Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1885. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 1. pl. XXVII.86, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1369, p. 235, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Tatton-Brown, Veronica. 1984. "Sculptors at Golgoi." Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus (RDAC) p. 171, pl. XXXIII:3.Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 441, p. 315, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.