Pan or FaunusPan, the God of the countryside and nature. Often depicted as ugly with a flattened nose and the lower torso and legs of a goat, Pan is seen as mischievous. His caprine features making him as much common beast as man. He was a much loved God in the ancient world, and yet it is an image some may associate with Medieval depictions of the Devil. It begs the question why vilify such a creature when others in Greek and Roman belief and myth were more easy contenders with their capricious and vengeful behaviour? There's some more written about it here.
The elongated ears of a goat, with slightly flattened nose and pinched nostrils, his mouth also has sheep or goat-like features. I used to keep a small flock of sheep and learned they do not have top teeth, just a bottom row for ease of grazing grass close to the ground. It is for this reason I have sculpted Pan with the same.
The making of
The sculpture was fired to stoneware, 1260 degrees C, and it was a school-girl error which led to some slumping of the chest. Forgetting to add scaffolding to the inside, the weight of the head has slumped the chest area meaning the arched shoulder holes have lost their shape. Out from the dark and back where he belongs, in among the flowers in the sunshine.
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