Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
The upper edge of the handle is carefully recessed to fit into a socket of the missing utensil. A section of the lower end has broken away; otherwise the handle is in good condition. On one side the bold relief shows Herakles carrying off the Delphic tripod. He also holds his club and has a lion's skin knotted across his shoulder. On the other side is an ithyphallic herm of Apollo, rather than the complete figure of Apollo himself, whith whom Herakles struggled for possession of the tripod. A tree, probably a laurel, indicative of the site of Delphi, completes the relief.Five other bone handles of similar design are known, all, however, showing Egyptian deities of the Ptolemaic period and not scenes from Greek mythology. Whether the Walters example was made in Egypt cannot be determined.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
18266
label
Herakles and the Delphic Tripod
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
18266
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Herakles and the Delphic Tripod
description
The upper edge of the handle is carefully recessed to fit into a socket of the missing utensil. A section of the lower end has broken away; otherwise the handle is in good condition. On one side the bold relief shows Herakles carrying off the Delphic tripod. He also holds his club and has a lion's skin knotted across his shoulder. On the other side is an ithyphallic herm of Apollo, rather than the complete figure of Apollo himself, whith whom Herakles struggled for possession of the tripod. A tree, probably a laurel, indicative of the site of Delphi, completes the relief.Five other bone handles of similar design are known, all, however, showing Egyptian deities of the Ptolemaic period and not scenes from Greek mythology. Whether the Walters example was made in Egypt cannot be determined.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Estate of Dikran Kelekian, New York, 1951; Walters Art Museum, 1951, by purchase.
date
2nd-1st century BC (Hellenistic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
handles
utensils
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 15/16 in. (10 cm)
Source extras
med
bone
creator_ids
6256
6182
collection_ids
GRC
EGY
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
dafa30c3207dd7de