Bronze statue of Perseus, king of Argo, holding the head of Medusa. On a black marble base – Height: 35 cm.
Width: 23 cm – Depth: 12 cm.
Weight: 10,5 kg.
Perseus, king of Argos, is one of the greatest Greek heroes. Perseus is the son of Danae, daughter of the king of Argos Acrisios. The latter, warned by an oracle that his grandson would kill him, locks his daughter in a brazen tower, which does not prevent Zeus from seducing her in the form of a rain of gold. Perseus is thus born in secret. Revealed to his grandfather by his cries, he is locked in a chest with his mother and thrown into the waves, which carry him to the island of Seriphos. Both are taken in by a fisherman, who raises the boy as his son. As an adult, he is entrusted by Polydectes, the king of the island, with the mission of killing the Gorgon Medusa, whose hair is made of snakes and whose gaze petrifies those it reaches. Winner thanks to the magic weapons handed over by Hermes and Athena, Perseus passes through Ethiopia on his way back where he meets Princess Andromeda, who must be delivered to a sea monster following the reckless words of her mother Cassiopeia. Perseus frees her with his magic sword and marries her. Returning to Seriphos, he takes revenge on Polydectes, who tried to rape his mother Danae. He then returns to his homeland, Argos, which Acrisios fled for fear of the oracle to take refuge in Larissa. Now the king of this city organizes funeral games in which Perseus takes part. While throwing the discus, he accidentally kills Acrisios, who is watching the trials as a spectator. Out of respect for his late grandfather, Perseus exchanges his kingship of Argos for that of Tiryns. The legend of Perseus, in particular the episodes of Medusa and Andromeda, enjoyed great success after Antiquity. It is possible that it influenced Christian legends of dragon-slaying saints, such as that of Saint George.
The decapitation of Medusa by Perseus does not appear in Homer, but it appears in Hesiod's Theogony: Medusa, daughter of Ceto and Phorcys, is the only one of the three Gorgons to be mortal and to be seduced by Poseidon; she is decapitated by Perseus on the shores of Ocean, and from her blood are born the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaor with the golden sword. The Shield of Heracles shows Perseus equipped with the helmet of Hades, pursued by the Gorgons after having decapitated Medusa, whose head is enclosed in a bag with gold fringes that he carries on his back.
© Bronze sculpture
Ralph Duff (Customer confirmed) -
I know that you sold me discounted rejects that didn't meet any quality control standards…and it's OK.
As a gift to my brother, a man with no discerning attention to detail, the failed rendition of this caste was welcomed as if it were sterling. (I was fascinated, and silently curious to know what metal was used!)
Thank god, that the second statue had much more detail and is so much closer to a genuine piece of art.