Height: 3.4 cm

Solid cast and depicted seated on his hindlegs, with powerful musculature and three heads. The middle head is largest with the jaws set in a fierce expression and snakes curling around its neck.

Provenance: 

Professor Dan Barag Collection (1935–2009), Israel, acquired prior to 1980

UK private collection, acquired from the above circa 1980

Literature:

Cerberus was the three-headed watchdog of Hades, the ancient Greek Underworld, with serpents growing from his back, standing upon all fours. The monstrous canine-serpentine creature would devour anyone attempting to escape Hades' realm.

In Classical mythology, one of Hercules' labours was to bring Cerberus to the land of the living; once he completed this labour, Hercules returned Cerberus to Hades.

In the Roman Imperial period, such small figurines were often used in domestic shrines or private settings. Cerberus is frequently depicted alongside the god Serapis (who shared many underworld characteristics with Pluto/Hades) in Roman copies of earlier Hellenistic cult statues.