gryphon protector of treasures and priceless possessions

Celtic Gryphon Protector of Treasures and Priceless Possessions Statue

A Celtic Gryphon Statue, known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. Premium sculpted cold cast bronze, real bronze powder mixed with resin. Hand-painted with bronze finish to give a high-quality and antique look without sacrificing the details. Ideal for Gothic friends or relatives that love Mythological Celtic creatures. The Gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a Lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and sometimes an eagle’s talons as its front feet. Because the Lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts, and the Eagle the king of the birds, by the Middle Ages, the Gryphon was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, gryphon were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions. In Greek and Roman texts, Gryphon and Arimaspians were associated with gold deposits of Central Asia. Indeed, as Pliny the Elder wrote, “Gryphon were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests contained gold nuggets“. In medieval heraldry, the gryphon became a Christian symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. The derivation of this word remains uncertain. It could be related to the Greek word (grypos), meaning “curved“, or “hooked“.

It could also have been an Anatolian loan word, compare Akkadian karūbu (winged creature), and the phonetically similar Cherub. A related Hebrew word is (kerúv). Most statuary representations of Gryphon depict them with bird-like talons, although in some older illustrations gryphons have a lion’s forelimbs, they generally have a lion’s hindquarters. Its eagle’s head is conventionally given prominent ears, these are sometimes described as the lion’s ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse’s), and are sometimes feathered. Infrequently, a gryphon is portrayed without wings, or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a gryphon. In 15th century and later heraldry, such a beast may be called an alke or a keythong. When depicted on coats of arms, the gryphon is called the Opinicus, which may be derived from the Greek name Ophinicus, referring to the serpent astronomical constellation. In these depictions, it has the body of a lion with either two or four legs, the head of an eagle or dragon, the wings of an eagle, and a camel’s tail. Gryphon Protector of Treasures and Priceless Possessions Statue measures: 9.5 inches / 24 cm x 10.5 inches / 26.5 cm x 9 inches / 23 cm.