A Roman Pavonazzetto Marble Laconian Hound

Circa 2nd Century A.D.

Height 65.5 cm (25 3/4 inches).

Provenance:

Private Collection (E.W.), United Kingdom, 1960s.

Ariadne Galleries, New York, acquired prior to 17 June 2015.

With an inquisitive, upturned head, the seated hound is captured in a moment of heightened alertness as if responding to a distant sound. The planted forelegs and massive paws, along with the alert torsion of the head and body, attractively combine to render the hunting dog in a state of latent, barely contained energy. The head is characterized by a narrow muzzle with a line of plastically rendered scruff along the jaw, with long pendent ears set low on the head and falling close to the neck. These aspects of the head, along with a deep muscled chest and abdominal tuck, are all characteristic of Laconian hunting hounds, immensely popular throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Idiosyncratic treatment of anatomy, such as selective thickening of vulnerable paws and forelegs and schematically conceived ribs, might be explained by vagaries of workshop production. It could also reflect technical challenges posed by the heterogeneous structure and pronounced veining of the pavonazzetto marble chosen, an attractive yet notorious stone for complicating precise carving due to the increased risk of fracture.

Sculpted animals and dogs in particular were ideally suited to display within garden and funerary contexts where their lifelike presence and associations with loyalty and vigilance would have resonated strongly. The tradition was rooted in Greek naturalism and deeply appreciated by Roman sculptors. Colored marbles were frequently chosen for animals, used to enhance vivid, lifelike effects. Hounds in colored marble and stone have been found in metropolitan Rome during the 19th century, notably a strikingly similar seated hound rendered in serpentine excavated on the Esquiline (Musei Capitolini inv. no. MC1110) and a striding pointer carved in pavonazzetto with a verde antico base (Musei Vaticani, inv. no. MV.425.0.0). The enduring appeal of such sculptures was not lost on enthusiasts of later eras: the famed ‘Jennings Dog’ (an imposing Molossian now in the British Museum, inv. no. 2001,1010.1), notably, was one of the earliest and most admired antiquities to enter an English collection.

For dogs in Greek sculpture, see the section in G.M.A. Richter, Animals in Greek Sculpture (London, 1930). Vermeule’s analysis of the function and meaning of such statues remains useful C.C. Vermeule, “Greek Funerary Animals, 450-300 B.C.” AJA 76 (1972): 49-59, as does his earlier article, which takes up aspects of Roman craftsmanship: “The Basel Dog: A Vindication” AJA 72, no. 2 (1968), pp. 95-101. For the “Jennings Dog” and aspects of antiquarian interpretation, see F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique (New Haven, 1981).