CIMRM Supplement - Marble relief tauroctony with acanthus-leaf border. Unknown provenance.
Marble relief panel, showing Mithras tauroctonos. 2-3rd century. 84.5 x 127.5 cm. Offered for sale by Rupert Wace Ancient Art in London in July 2014. Of unknown origin.
Mithras in the usual position for the tauroctony, complete with scorpion, dog and snake in the usual places. A bust of Sol with rayed crown atop a rocky area. One ray of the crown extends, and touches Mithras' cloak. Under Sol, the raven stands on the rock. Beneath the rock is Cautopates, but legs not crossed, torch down. On the top right is Luna with her crescent, above a similar rock. Under that is Cautes with torch uplifted, legs again not crossed. Eyes of the figures have been drilled.
The following details were supplied by Claire E Brown, Associate Director, Rupert Wace Ancient Art, by email, in May 2014.
"I attach here a report written on the piece for us by Sadie Pickup and it has also been published by Manfred Clauss, in his recent book, 'Mithras. Kult und Mysterium', 2012, p.91."
LIMESTONE RELIEF PANEL SHOWING MITHRAS TAUROCTONOS. Roman, 2nd - early 3rd century AD.
Marble.
Dimensions: 84.5 x 127.5 cm.
The craftsmanship and preservation of the work is high. The focus of the composition is the central pyramid of bull and hero, offset by surrounding figures in all four corners; downward angles to the left are counterbalanced by upward diagonals on the right. The drilled eyes of all figures date to the second century AD or slightly later... Here, clothes are elaborately presented especially those of Mithras whose clock billows in varying levels of relief. Features of the bull are also depicted in a decorative fashion, with incision marking the feathers around its hooves and drilling around the base of its horn and ear. The scene is framed by an unusual and decorative border of acanthus leaves interspersed with lotus buds, uncommon in sculptural representations, although similar surroundings occur in smaller media such as gems (Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery 42.868; LIMC VI, 598, no. 122); they possibly indicate the generative nature of the cult.
The nuances of the Mithraic Mysteries are little understood, including elements from Hellenistic and Oriental precursors. Basic features include: the injunction of silence and the promise of salvation for those involved, with rituals often subterranean in their execution. Textual sources for the religion are therefore scant, meaning archaeological remains in the form of sculpture and reliefs are the primary basis for its reconstruction. One of the most frequent representations associated with Mithras is the Tauroctony where the deity is shown astride a bull, in this instance looking behind to a raven perched on a ledge. He plunges a dagger into the beast's right shoulder grasping its nostrils with his left hand and titling its head back, causing its tongue to extend out, thus reducing its strength. The bull is approached from underneath by a scorpion, serpent and a dog at the front, clamouring in an attempt to capture the magical force it emits before death symbolised by the metamorphosis of its tail into ears of corn. Cautes and Cautopates surround the bull, known to have been linked to the cult from inscriptions. The former carries a raised flame-topped torch, the latter one inverted. They are thought to represent the rising and setting sun, or perhaps the spring and autumn equinox. As Mithras they are dressed in eastern attire of short tunics and trousers, although Cautopates has short hair and lacks the pointed Scythian or Persian cap of the main protagonist and Cautes. Mithras also wears an additional Paludamentum (a cape fastened at the corner and a sign of high Roman military rank).
The relief is unusual in its presentation of Cautes on the right, although his position is found in a few examples elsewhere, such as one from Campania (Naples, National Museum 6733; LIMC VI, 597, no. 113). Sol and Luna are represented as busts in the top corners. The former on the left has a radiate crown of seven points one extending out towards Mithras, the latter on the right wears a luna crown. They are placed upon rocks, an indication that the scene takes place either underground, or in close proximity to a cave, much as many of the rites and rituals associated with Mithraism. A scene of sacrifice, in some examples the bull is adorned with a dorsal band. The animal's association with the moon, drawn from the crescent shape of its horns, sees Mithras overcome the beast and therefore restore life. The hero is thus presented in the guise of Invictis Sol, with interpretation of the scene's iconography largely revolving around the constellations, presenting an outline of heaven, extending from Taurus in the west to Scorpius in the east.
The bull is the equivalent of Taurus; Cautes and Cautopates represent twins, akin to Gemini. The dog relates to Canis Major or Minor; the snake is the Hydra the longest of the constellations, with the Lion representative of Leo. The wheat ears in the bull's tail link to Alpha Virginis, the ear of wheat held in the hand of Virgo, the raven is Corvus - a small constellation in the southern sky - the Scorpion is Scorpius. Sol and Luna are self-explanatory, with the former reiterated by Mithras who represents the sky, shown by the blue rendering of his clock in surviving frescos of the scene (Rome, Barberini Palace in situ, LIMC VI, 600, no. 144).
Provenance: Collection of Sir Daniel Donohue, Los Angeles, USA. Acquired prior to the death of Countess Bernardine in March 1968, and probably collected by her father Dan Murphy who died in 1939.
Comparanda: A similar white marble relief is known from Campania, although it may originally come from Capri. For further discussion: Vermaseren, M. J., Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae (Hague, 1956), 103, fig. 47, no. 172.
Bibliography: Beck, R., The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire (Oxford, 2006). Claus, M., Gordon, R., (tr.), The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and his Mysteries (Edinburgh, 2000). Vollkommer, R., "Mithras" s.v. LIMC VI, 583-626.
Clauss' work gives no additional info, but does include an illustration.
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