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Hera, Hermes, Argus, and Io in the shape of a Cow: M.7-1836

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Hera, Hermes, Argus, and Io in the shape of a Cow

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Folding fan, with paper leaf painted in colours and gilt. Sticks of ivory inlaid with mother-of-pearl and piqué in silver. The guards are carved in relief with geometrical shapes inlaid with mother-of-pearl with piqué borders. The sticks are pierced with diaper pattern and carved in relief with a lady and gentleman dancing on either side of a tree, flanked by stylized plants and buildings, enclosed in a scroll border and geometrical shapes inlaid with mother-of-pearl with piqué borders. The leaf is painted with a mythological scene: Hera/Juno, Hermes/Mercury, and Io in the shape of a cow. Border of foliage and tassels with gilt edge.

Notes

History note: Miss Whitehurst, Hertford

Legal notes

Given by Miss Whitehurst

Measurements and weight

Width: 48 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1836-07-27) by Whitehurst, Miss

Dating

18th Century, Late
Production date: circa AD 1790 : sticks could be earlier

Note

Chickenskin painted in body colour; ivory sticks and guards Zeus was trying to seduce Io, a priestess of Hera at Argos, and when she ran from him, changed her into a white cow to conceal her from Hera, his wife. Hera asked for the cow as a present, and set many-eyed Argus to guard it. Zeus sent Hermes to kill Argus and free Io, who after much wandering regained her human form, married the Egyptian King Telegonus, and was worshipped as Isis.

School or Style

Neoclassical

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Leaf composed of paper gilt paint
Sticks+guards composed of mother-of-pearl
Guards Length 27.9 cm
Sticks

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.7-1836
Primary reference Number: 118047
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 12 January 2021 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Hera, Hermes, Argus, and Io in the shape of a Cow" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/118047 Accessed: 2024-03-29 14:57:26

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/118047 |title=Hera, Hermes, Argus, and Io in the shape of a Cow |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-29 14:57:26|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-118047

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