A Greek Bronze Griffin Protome, Samos(?), circa late 7th Century B.C.

from the shoulder of a bronze cauldron, with serpentine neck flanged for attachment at the base, round fold under the jaws, and gaping beak with pointed tongue, large almond-shaped eyes recessed for inlay, and ribbed eyebrows, the long pointed ears (one missing) erect, a knobbed stem projecting above the forehead, the scales and long spiral locks on the neck and behind the eyes finely engraved.

American Private Collection, acquired in 1964
William Herbert Hunt Collection (Sotheby’s, New York, The Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, Highly Important Greek Vases, The William Herbert Hunt Collection, Highly Important Greek, Roman and Etruscan Bronzes, June 19th, 1990, no. 21, illus.)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

David G. Mitten and Suzannah F. Doeringer, Master Bronzes from the Classical World, Mainz, 1967, exh. cat., The Fogg Art Museum, the City Art Museum of Saint Louis, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 4th, 1967 - June 30th, 1968, p. 72 no. 65.
Hans V. Herrmann, Die Kessel der orientalisierenden Zeit. Zweiter Teil. Kesselprotomen und Stabdreifüsse, Olympische Forschungen, vol. 12, Berlin, 1979, p. 105 and note 23
Dietrich von Bothmer, et al., Wealth of the Ancient World, The Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt Collections, Fort Worth, 1983, exh. cat., Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the High Museum, Atlanta, June 25th, 1983-February 9th, 1986, p. 95, no. 21.
Ulrich Gehrig, Die Greifenprotomen aus dem Heraion von Samos, Samos vol. 9, Bonn, 2004, p. 40, and note 161

Very good and as shown. Note chips on attachment flange on proper left side, and missing proper left ear. Tip of right ear, crest of beak, and eye-rims slightly eroded in areas. Generally the surface is in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Cf. Sotheby's, New York, December 2nd and 3rd, 1982, no. 159; Greek Art of the Aegean Islands, nos. 135-139; and Boston, Bronzes, no. 407. Also compare Mertens, Greek Bronzes, no. 9, for an earlier example. Mertens draws attention to the following passage from Herodotos: "The Samians took six talents...and made therewith a bronze vessel, like an Argolic krater, with griffins' heads projecting from the rim all around; this they set up in their temple of Hera, supporting it with three colossal kneeling figures of bronze, each seven cubits high" (The Persian Wars 4.154).

Based on the size, form, and ear and scale details, Gehrig (op. cit., p. 40) writes that the closest known example to the present protome is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (U. Jantzen, Athener Mitteilungen, vol. 73, 1958, p. 30, no. 46c, Beilage 32, fig. 4). The Oxford protome was said to come from Lebanon when the Museum acquired it, a claim questioned by Herrmann (op. cit., p. 105, note 21).