Seal with Quadruped
Geometric Period (800–600 BCE)
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
4.1 × 3.8 × 1.3 cm (1 5/8 × 1 1/2 × 1/2 in.)
Classification
votive offering
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196481
Art Historical Context
### Seal with Quadruped ailing from Ancient Greece's Geometric Period (800–600), this petite bronze seal captures the era's hallmark shift toward stylized figural art. Measuring just 4.1 × 3.8 × 1.3 cm, it features a quadruped—likely a deer or similar animal—rendered in the abstract, geometric forms typical of the time. Greek artists of this period moved away from the Bronze Age's monumental styles, embracing patterns of triangles, meanders, and simple silhouettes to depict animals and humans, reflecting a burgeoning interest in narrative and symbolism on a smaller scale. Crafted in bronze, ...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...