A pale beige solid mould-made terracotta figurine of Hermes carrying a ram over his shoulders (Hermes Kriophoros. The word kriophoros, meaning 'ram-bearer', relates to a cult deriving from an Eastern Greek myth of Hermes saving a plague-bound city by carrying a ram on his shoulders around its walls).
 
Rhodes: Circa 6th-5th Century BC.
 
Fine condition; complete and intact, the finer detail indistinct.
Height 10.4 cms (4.1 ins).
 
Provenance:
 
Raphaël Collin (1850-1916) collection, Paris.
 
The Senator William A. Clark (1839-1925) Collection, acquired from the above in 1911.
 
In 1925, American politician and entrepreneur Senator William A. Clark (1839 - 1925) bequeathed a major portion of his large and varied collection to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Clark purchased his antiquities collection of Greek and Roman Art from the French painter Raphael Collin who assembled the collection between 1890 and 1910 with the assistance of experts from the Louvre, particularly Edmond Pottier, curator in the department of Eastern antiquities at the Musee du Louvre from 1908 to 1925. This collection draws from the art of many ancient Greek cultures, including mainland Greece, Cyprus, and Greek colonies established around the Mediterranean basin, especially Southern Italy and Anatolia.
 
Bequeathed to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1925.
 
Deaccessioned and gifted to the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Centre, Washington D.C., 2014.
 
With Sands of Time Ancient Art, Washington D.C., 2021.
 
Published:
 
R. Collin, Collection of Antique Grecian, Egyptian and Etruscan Statuettes, Vases, Tanagras, Etc., Paris, 1911, p. 2, nos. 11/12.
 
Original Clark Catalogue, Part II, p. 234, no, 11.
 
The Illustrated Handbook of the W.A. Clark Collection, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1928, p. 100, nos. 2514
 
Exhibited:
 
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 'The William A. Clark Collection,' 26 April-16 July 1978.