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A Graeco-Roman marble pomegranate.
Circa 1st century AD.
Provenance:
Swedish private collection, acquired in Stockholm in the 1970s.
Literature:
The pomegranate was associated with agrarian cults, fertility and funerary rites and in particular with the Eleusinian mysteries, relating to the goddesses Persephone and Demeter. Persephone was tricked by Hades into eating a pomegranate, thus dooming her to spend one third of the year, symbolising Winter, in the Underworld.
Pausanias describes the chryselephantine statue of the goddess Hera at Argos as holding a pomegranate in one hand and a sceptre in the other. With regards to the pomegranate, he describes, 'about the pomegranate I must say nothing, for its story is somewhat of a holy mystery' (Description of Greece, 2.17.4-6).
Dimensions
Height: 8.5 cmThe BADA Standard
- Since 1918, BADA has been the leading association for the antiques and fine art trade
- Members are elected for their knowledge, integrity and quality of stock
- Our clients are protected by BADA’s code of conduct
- Our dealers’ membership is reviewed and renewed annually
- Bada.org is a non-profit site: clients deal directly with members and they pay no hidden fees
