A Greek Marble Panther Head
Circa 3rd-2nd Century B.C.
Height 8 x width 5 1/2 inches.

Provenance:
Mr. A.T. Ganasoulis Collection, Patra, Greece, prior to 1906.
Acquired by Alexis Nascu, Greece, 8 January 1906; thence by descent. (Accompanied with purchase record copy)

Note:
This remarkable Hellenistic head belonged to a life-size figure of a marble panther. In Greek and Roman art, panthers would often appear alongside Dionysos, the god of wine. There are known examples in marble of the two together in playful jest (see Dionysos with a Panther at The Hermitage Museum, Inv. no. ГР-4166) and in triumphal processions with other exotic and fantasy creatures (see Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus at The Walters Museum, Inv. no. 23.31).

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