Italy, Roman / 100–1 BCE
Tripod Base
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Tripod Base as sculpture (Italy, Roman · 100–1 BCE).
This elaborate base may have originally supported an ornate lamp (not the statuette now displayed atop it).
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as bronze.
The museum's collection notes: This unusual tripod base features three clawed feet, an abundance of vegetal ornament, and three different figural scenes in low relief. Two seem to show sanctuary settings: first, a small Archaistic statue of Athena flanked by a woman with small offerings and a man holding a kid and leading two goats; and second, a small youthful male statue behind two beardless figures—perhaps Apollo, with a stag, and Dionysos, holding a thyrsos . The third scene shows Herakles, holding a club while leading a woman, maybe Auge or Alcestis. Although perhaps similarly eclectic in style, the base and the sculpture it now supports differ in their alloys and pat
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The Cleveland Museum of ArtTripod BaseOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.