Small but astonishingly well crafted (note the silver eyes), emaciated yet powerfully expressive, this bronze statuette (H. 11.5 cm) remains quite a puzzle.
This is no Alexandrine beggar. His neat cap of hair, thick mantle, relatively ornate stool (the sitting surface is latticed….hard to see here) indicate a young man of some social standing. Far from caricature, his features are regular with that piercing silver gaze offset by straight brows and sunken cheeks. His left hand likely rested on a cane, and right foot appears to wear a cushioned boot.
Since the statuette’s discovery in the mid-19th century (in Northern France of all places), his identity and possible medical condition has been the subject of considerable interest. The former partly because of the dotted inscriptions on his garment (Eudamidas and Perdik) – both Greek names, and both with tenuous links to possible mythical or historical figures. His wasted body and peculiar foot have suggested more recently that he suffered from chronic lead poisoning.
Of more interest (to me, anyway), is the compassion and care with which he has been shown, and what all that might mean in terms of his creation of display. Are we looking upon a votive dedication, made by anguished parents for their afflicted son?
