Italian Marble Figure of the Minotaur

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Marble figure of the minotaur, 17th century baroque style, italy. Beige/grey marble. Minotaur on a rectangular "rosso di verona" base. … Read more Marble figure 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: 102cm an almost identical marble figure was sold in our december 2010 auction (catalog 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, a son of zeus, asked the sea god poseidon to grant him a miracle to consolidate his kingship and deter possible claimants to the throne. He was to let a white bull rise 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 enraged and cursed minos' wife pasiphae - she fell madly in love with the bull and had daedalus build a wooden cow frame and stretch a cowhide over it. When the artificial cow was ready, pasiphae crawled inside to unite with the white bull. From this union came minotaur, a fearsome figure with a human body and the head of a bull. King minos wanted to kill the monster, but his daughter ariadne begged him to let minotaur live. Minos granted her wish and ordered daedalus to build a labyrinth where minotaur was imprisoned. After a successful campaign against athens, the cretan king imposed a cruel tribute on the defeated: every seven years, seven athenian youths and seven athenian maidens had to be sent to crete and sacrificed to the minotaur. See less