Thanks! Yours is swell, too.
My first thought was that it was a
shield, as well. But in my piece, it's not as shield-looking as on yours, and she's not resting her hand on it, but rather grasping
what appears to be an extension of a rope or bridle. Note the dots about...suggesting adornments?
According to the myth, "As he slept,
Bellerophon dreamt that
Athena came to him and offered him a golden bridle, which was actually there beside him when he woke up."
If as Shawn suggested, "It was likely actually made and sold by the temple staff as a way of making
money." If
selling them as inexpensive quasi souvenirs, perhaps it was too difficult to
cast the
bridle (if it is a bridle) open-work styled. Too delicate and easy to break?
Shame about the missing
head and right
arm that may have answered such questions.
Best, Kevin
