Snake Goddess

Description Exhibitions Provenance Credit

Description This statue of a snake goddess has been carved with a drill and flat chisel. The upper part is dowelled into the lower. The goddess wears a tall headdress with a snake wound around it. Her hands are pierced to hold snakes. The headdress is broken off and the upper part has been repaired. The lower part has been restored with plaster. The joining method, style, and material make the authenticity of this piece doubtful.

Exhibitions

Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963 - 2016. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; The Met Breuer, New York. 2018.

Provenance Leon Gruel, Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1929, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1929

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Creator

Minoan (Sculptor)

Period

16th century BCE or early 20th century (Late Minoan or modern)

Medium

black steatite, carved
(Sculpture)

Accession Number

23.196

Measurements

Overall H: 11 × W: 4 1/2 × D: 4 in. (27.94 × 11.43 × 10.16 cm); H of upper part: 5 11/16 in. (14.5 cm); H of lower part: 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm)

Geographies

Greece, Crete (Place of Origin)

Location Within Museum

Not On View