Marble Sculpture Of The Minotaur, 17th Century Baroque Style, Italy

MARBLE SCULPTURE OF THE MINOTAUR, 17th century. Baroque style, Italy. Beige/grey marble. Minotaur on a rectangular “Rosso di Verona” base. H (without base) 81 cm. H (without base) 81 cm. With base: 102 cm. An almost identical marble statue was sold at our December 2010 auction (catalogue no. 1008). The Minotaur is a Greek mythological figure with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The Cretan king Minos, son of Zeus, asked the sea god Poseidon for a miracle to consolidate his kingship and deter potential claimants to the throne. He was to summon a white bull from the sea, which Minos then promised to sacrifice. Poseidon granted his request and sent a magnificent bull. Minos, however, kept the bull for himself and sacrificed another animal. Poseidon, furious, cursed Pasiphaë, Minos's wife. She fell madly in love with the bull and asked Daedalus to build a wooden cow carcass and stretch a hide over it. Once the artificial cow was ready, Pasiphaë slipped inside to unite with the white bull. From this union was born the Minotaur, a fearsome figure with a human body and a bull's head. King Minos wanted to kill the monster, but his daughter Ariadne begged him to spare the Minotaur's life. Minos granted her wish and ordered Daedalus to build a labyrinth where the Minotaur would be imprisoned. After a victorious campaign against Athens, the Cretan king imposed a cruel tribute on the vanquished: every seven years, seven young Athenians and seven maidens were to be sent to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. This terrible punishment only ended when Theseus volunteered to offer his tribute, went to Crete and killed the Minotaur. Sold at Koller Swiss Auction on September 19, 2013, lot 1298 for €25,000