Temple of Zeus at Olympia, lion water spout
- Title:
- Temple of Zeus at Olympia, lion water spout
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
ca. 140-190 CE
2009 (image)
- Site:
- Olympia, Greece (discovery site) (original)
- Location:
- Goldwin Smith Hall (Room 122), Cornell University
Olympia, Greece (discovery site) (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0730
- Accession Number:
- probably Sage no. 126
252 in front
259 - File Name:
- CCC_0730.tif
- Culture:
- Greek
- Style/Period:
- Roman Imperial period
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
marble relief (sculpture technique) (original) - Subject:
- Lions
- Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 47 x 65 (centimeters, height x width)
- Description:
- This is a well-preserved cast of a lion's head water spout from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and a small section of the sima from which the spout projects. The lion's face is almost triangular and he is wolf-like in appearance. The front row of his mane is depicted in ridged, wavy locks, with additional, saw tooth-shaped rows behind it. It is short at the jawline, giving the appearance of long sideburns. The top of the mane is flat, sitting flush with the upper edge of the sima. A wavy lock falls in front of his pointy ears at his temples. Thick-lidded, almond-shaped eyes are set above prominent cheekbones. The lion's squared nose has two pronounced ridges that extend from the nostrils to top of his open mouth. A shallow carving at the lower muzzle indicates an open jaw and bared teeth, but the lower parts of the mouth and jaw are missing in the original. The far right (viewer's) side of face and ear are also damaged in the original. This lion is most similar to those in Willemsen's E 5 series. He identifies these as replacements to the originals and dates the E 5 series between 140 CE and the end of the second century CE.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
- Bibliography:
- Franz Willemsen, Die Löwenkopf-Wasserspeier vom Dach des Zeustempels, OlForsch IV (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter and Co., 1959), 93-94, pls. 105-107
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Unknown (probably Olympia, Archaeological Museum or site) (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.