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The tripod stands on feline-paw feet. Atop the central rod of each leg is a palmette, and above this, on the upper ring, a couchant sphinx. Large horse protomes, each including the forelegs as well as the head, decorated the upper rim above each of the inverted U-shaped intermediate rods. The stand would have supported a bronze vessel. Rod tripod stands have a long history in the eastern Mediterranean region. The earliest examples occurred on Cyprus in the thirteen century B.C., and the type continued to be produced there and elsewhere in the succeeding centuries.
The Cypriot version has a wide distribution. It has been found on Crete, the Cyclades, mainland Greece, Sardinia and Italy. This stand is an early example of a later, ornate type of Greek manufacture. Cast in several pieces and then soldered and jointed together, it is a highly accomplished piece of metalwork.
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