THE MYTH ADONIS

THE MYTH OF ADON IS l

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A supreme exam ple of the work of master craftsmen in glass

Glass and go ld des ign by Donald Pollard Engraving design by Jerry Pfohl Limited to an edi tion of one piece

STEUBEN GLASS FIFTH A VENUE AT 56th STREET • NEW YORK, N. Y. 10022

TE MYTH OF ADONIS • Oval casket composed of 1 H;anels of engraved crystal mounted in an elab­

orately ornamented frame of gold, with a jewel-cut

crystal finial. The casket symbolizes the myth of the god

Adonis, who represented to the early Greeks the

seed of life, manifest in a grain of wheat and in the annual rebirth of the earth's vegetation. The en­

graved panels show the life, death, and rebirth of

Adonis, and the four seasons-in four engravings of a rose bush and anemone plant intertwined in lov­

er's knots . The upper panels concern the earth and

the heavens-the lower panels, the underworld. The white gold frame of the casket is orna­

mented with green gold leaves. The green gold ball feet are embellished with a lettuce leaf-a symbol of

ephemeral life. The finial, a great stone of brilliant

crystal, emerald cut, rests on green gold lettuce leaves. It is encircled by red gold seeds of wheat.

Length 6 Vs " ·Height 6 %'' ·Gold, 18 kt .

Below th e tree th at gave him birth , th e infant Adonis lies in th e arms of A phrodite, goddess of love. Aphro­dite, entranced by his beauty, hid him from mortal eyes in th e casket that lies beside her, and entrusted it to Persephon e.

Persephone, goddess of th e underwo rld, opened th e casket, beheld Adonis, and refused to g ive him up. Zeus decrees that she shall relinquish him to spend half th e year on earth -returning to her in th e under­world for the oth er half.

Th e y outh Adonis engages a wi ld boar in mortal com­bat . Adonis li es dead . Around him grow th e an emon es that sprang from his blood at th e bidding of Aphrodite, and th e ros e bush that, having prick ed th e goddess as she hastened to her beloved, bore flo wers stain ed red by her blood.

Fram th e seed in th e casket that Persephone has cher­ished th e winter lon g in th e underworld, th e young spring wheat bursts forth to bring th e ear th new life . With it Adonis, reborn, aris es to embrace th e waiting Aphrodite.

THE ARTISTS

DoNALD PoLLARD, designer, joined Steuben Glass in 1950. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of De­sign, he first worked in silver under the trainee pro­gram of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. His designs in crystal have been shown in many Steuben exhibitions and are represented in public and private collections in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

JERRY PFOHL, painter, studied art in Paris and in Lon­don, where he received gold and silver medals from the Regent Street Polytechnic. His paintings have been exhibited by museums throughout the United States, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Nebraska Art Association, National Acad­emy of Design, and Philbrook Art Center.

" Th e Myth of Adonis" was made and engraved by Steub en Glass , and completed in 1966.

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