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large bronze tripod with horse handles
£450.00
This lovely tripod has handles decorated with a horse, symbol of wealth and status. Frequently, figures of horses, griffins and ibex were used for this purpose - known as the 'protome' of the tripod. A bay and rosemary scented terracotta tealight will accompany your tripod. Height to top of the handles: 40cm Diameter of bowl: 21cm Depth of bowl: 7cm
quantity
about the bronzes in this collection
The bronze pieces are cast in Greece using the traditional lost wax method. As nothing is mass-produced, there will inevitably be slight variations in texture, patina, and colour. No two pieces are ever the same. If mounted on a marble base, it will be a black or very dark grey base. There may be a variation of some millimetres in the dimensions of the base from time to time. It's All Greek is so grateful and so proud to have been working closely with the Semitekolo family foundry since 1999. It has been a privilege and a joy to handle, live with, and photograph these gorgeous pieces and to pass them on to customers all over the world. |
about the horse
The horse - Greek 'hippos' - was a symbol of wealth, status, military power, and divine majesty. Horses were integral to a thriving economy, and an essential part of victorious warfare. These high value and high maintenance luxury items, were pretty much restricted to ownership by the aristocracy and/or the wealthy.
Owning and entering chariot teams in the Panhellenic Games (such as the Olympic in Olympia, the Pythian in Delphi) and in the Panathenaic Games in Athens, brought great prestige to the owner. Achilles in the Iliad rode into battle with immortal horses (who could also speak) Xanthos and Balios.
Poseidon, god of the sea, oceans, and earthquakes, created the horse from the crashing waves, connecting the animal's untamed, powerful spirit to elemental fury. The sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene drove their horse-drawn chariots across the sky, anchoring the horse in the daily rhythm of the universe. Pegasus the winged horse, and son of Poseidon and Medusa, represents the ultimate bridge between the earthly realm and divine inspiration.
Figurines in bronze and terracotta have been found in abundance in ancient Greek religious sanctuaries, where they would have been sold to visitors to leave as offerings to the gods.
about the tripod
Tripods - from the Greek 'tripous', meaning 'three footed' - were symbols of achievement, status, and hospitality.
In Homer's Iliad and Odyssey they were a token of friendship between host and guest, and were given as prizes for winning in games. In the Classical period, vases show that they continued to be awarded as prizes for athletic competitions.
The tripod is associated with Apollo, god of oracles and prophecy. In Apollo's sanctuary in Delphi, his priestess, the Pythia, would sit in the bowl of a tripod and inhale laurel fumes before delivering her prophetic utterances. At one point, Apollo's half-brother Herakles tried to wrestle the tripod from Apollo, as depiced on several vases and temple sculptures.
These bronze tripods are wonderful decorative pieces in their own right, but look stunning with a lit candle or a plant in the bowl.