A remarkable Roman statuette of a frog sculpted in rare green porphyry. Also known as 'Spartan basalt', the striking volcanic stone was found only in a single quarry near the village of Krokees in the Peloponnese, and was rarely used for figurative sculptures in antiquity owing as much to its excessive hardness as to its scarcity.
Speckled with feldspar crystals, the stone has been cleverly selected to mimic the amphibian's moist and mottled skin. A toad sculpted in red 'rosso antico' marble is also known from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, where it probably served as decoration in the extensive gardens, and a similar context can also be imagined for this piece.
Height: 11cm, Length: 22cm
1st-3rd century AD
Gorny & Mosch Auctions
No location, no date, no name of the maker, no description, 3,500 retweets, 40,000 likes — clearly AI-generated. People are so easily fooled.
A pity, really, since there are so many stunning real stained-glass windows in the world.