Pan of Rohallion
Pan is traditionally portrayed as a faun or satyr, with goat’s legs and pointed or furred ears, reflecting his role as a god of wild places, and the guardian of shepherds and goatherds. However, the sculptor of this work, Frederick MacMonnies, depicts Pan as a boy with long tufted ears but no other animal features. He wears a goat skin and plays on a pair of pipes. MacMonnies may have drawn inspiration for this unusual version of Pan from Edward Burne-Jones's acclaimed painting The Garden of Pan (National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, 1887), which depicts a pastoral idyll in which a young Pan, without any animal attributes, plays on a double-fluted pipe or diaulos.
MacMonnies modelled Pan for the Rohallion estate in New Jersey, where a life-size version was installed as a fountain figure. Many small bronzes were also cast from the model. This copy was cast between 1901 and 1914, by which date it was on display in the living room of Cranbrook House.
Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
March 2024
ProvenanceGeorge Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth (after 1901-circa 1930)
Henry Scripps Booth and Carolyn Farr Booth (circa 1930-1973)
Cranbrook Educational Community (1973-present)
Credit LineCranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Cultural Properties Collection, Founders Collection
Gift of Henry Scripps Booth and Carolyn Farr Booth, from the Estate of George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth
Medium / MaterialsBronze
InscribedANNO DOMINI / MDCCCLXL
SignedMaker's mark on reverse of globe, stamped: Jableuf Rouard / Fondeurs a Paris
GenreObject TypeStatues
Select Bibliography and Archival Citation(s)Appraisal by Stalker & Boos (1975). Series II: Appraisals and Inventories. George Gough and Ellen Warren Scripps Booth Financial Records (1981-02). Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
