Phoenician Terracotta Ex-Voto or Idol depicting a Triton. 6th-4th century BC. 32 cm H. Old provenance. Spanish Export

Important figure of an Ex-Voto or Idol depicting a Triton.

Phoenician, c. 6th - 4th century B.C.

32 cm H and 27 cm L. (without stand) 36 cm H with stand.

- STAND DISPLAY INCLUDED -

PROVENANCE: Maurice Druon Collection, Paris 1918 - 2009. Druon was a French writer and academic, Minister of Culture of France between 1973 and 1974.

CONDITION: Good state, see photos, unrestored.

DESCRIPCTION:

It is representing a Hybrid creature, the upper half being a man's body and lower half is a fish's body, specifically the tail.
It is presented on a base made in the form of an altar. The human torso is naked, with fine features such as the chest and the navel. The face has a serene expression with large almond shaped eyes highlighted by eyelids that are marked with a thick line, this being a Phoenician interpretation that is of clear Greek Archaïc inspiration.
At the height of the chin, there is a false beard, reminiscent of that used by the Egyptian pharaohs as a sign of power. The hair is worked in a smooth way, delimited in all its contour by a line of geometric design that frames the form of the man's head, this in turn links with the classic Greek tradition. In this way we can see how it is a piece that eclectically combines influences from styles such as Greek or Egyptian, the result of the Phoenicians' contacts with these cultures.

With respect to its iconography, it could be Yam, the god of the sea in the Canaanite pantheon. Yam is a deity of the sea and his palace is in the abyss associated with the depths. He represents the primordial chaos, the power of the sea, uncontainable and furious; he is seen as the god of dominant storms and the disasters they cause, and he was an important deity for the maritime Phoenicians.

This figure belongs to a group of Phoenician terracottas that remained 2,500 years under the sea until the 1960s when a fortuitous discovery made it possible to find all the pieces. One of the hypotheses that are being considered is that the Phoenicians, faced with the siege that the city suffered by Alexander the Great, loaded their ships with these pieces in order to escape from the city with their most precious goods. However, a storm must have surprised them a few kilometres from the coast, causing the ship to sink and the terracotta boats it contained to sink.

The sea god Triton, of Greek origin, is depicted on this Phoenician votive offering with a stylised face framed by a beard that gives him an aristocratic bearing. The muscular torso curves at the level of the hips, growing to the back with a long tail. He probably originally could have been blowing a conch shell. It follows Greek precepts in terms of representation, with the torso of a man and the lower part of a fish. Legend has it that Triton lived with his parents, Poseidon and Amphitrite, in a golden palace at the bottom of the sea. He is often depicted with a conch shell that he blows like a trumpet. The Phoenician culture, and later the Romans, inherited this figure and reinterpreted its symbolism. Here, adopting the role of an ex-vota, he gives good fortune to sailors.


Notes:
The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.
The piece includes authenticity certificate.
The piece includes Spanish Export License.
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