Greece, Hellenistic period / late 200s BCE
Tritoness or Scylla Relief Applique
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Tritoness or Scylla Relief Applique as metalwork (Greece, Hellenistic period · late 200s BCE).
Mythological sea creatures became popular metal vessel decorations around the 2nd-century BCE.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as bronze with copper inlays.
The museum's collection notes: The seaweed garment, finned gills, and webbed ears give this female bust appliqué all the hallmarks of an ocean dweller. She may be a Tritoness, a minor goddess of the sea and the female counterpart to the more common Triton. However, her intense gaze and raised arm clutching perhaps the hilt of a sword suggest she may be Scylla, a sea monster that first appears in Homer’s Odyssey . Without the Tritoness’s fishtail or Scylla’s lower body made of dogs’ heads, it is difficult to differentiate. Certain features are highlighted with a copper inlay such as the lips, eyes, and gills.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtTritoness or Scylla Relief AppliqueOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.