Description
The basilisk is an imaginary animal, half cock and half snake. According to medieval bestiaries, the basilisk could kill merely by its glance. It was commonly held as the symbol of the devil to be trodden down by Christ, first at the moment of his incarnation and then again during the Last Judgment.
Provenance
Juliana Armour Ferguson, Huntington, Long Island, New York; (Edward R. Lubin, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (-1972); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1972-)
Accession Number
1972.20
Medium
marble
Dimensions
Overall: 30.2 x 33 x 29.3 cm (11 7/8 x 13 x 11 9/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
