Inlaid glass eyes, when they survive, have a way of enlivening ancient sculpture – set into a portrait, these ones have weathered in such a way to give this man a peculiarly jaundiced aspect. Patently unfair and if you can look past the artificial intimations of cirrhosis, the portrait itself is a marvelous survival, and
Well it’s the season of ‘la battue’ in the forests behind my house in Eastern France, with weekends full of hopeful orange roly-poly men harassing the local dwindling population of puny wild boar. And impinging upon my meditative walks. Not a fan. But I am intrigued by this late 4th century B.C. sarcophagus from the
This is one fascinating gentleman, in several respects. He is a plaster Roman overcast of one of the most famous sculptural groups from Classical Athens: the Tyrannicides. The original bronze group hailed from 477 B.C. Athens, sculpted by the greats Kritios and Nesiotes to commemorate an important (and likely fictionalized and pretty juicy) moment in
Nero’s portraits are awfully fun if you (like me) allow yourself to indulge in his (maybe mostly apocryphal) biography and bask in all the really nasty things that were written about him… Much of what we think we know about the emperor comes from takedowns written by viper-tongued detractors (Suetonius I’m looking at you). Nero
Naked as a jaybird apart from a choker necklace and baldric over one shoulder, this mirror handle is an utter oddity of the late 6th century B.C. – bucking the convention of demurely draped females that persisted until famous sculptural innovations two centuries later. She holds a pomegranate in one hand, but perhaps more telling
Dozens of these terracotta figurines were found in 1898 during excavations of the sanctuary of Demeter in Priene, leading to consternation on the part of German archaeologists there and some fun theories as to their cultic function…. Worshipful belly dancing, anyone? This one was found in Samos (not so far away) because although fragmentary I
A lot is written about the interplay between Hellenistic ruler portraits (with their over the top heroic dynamism and supple youth) and those of hollow-cheeked Roman aristocrats during the second and first centuries B.C. It’s a fun thing to think about…how to select a mode of self-representation and how to make it resonate within a
If you have been to Villa Giulia (Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia) in Rome, you have likely encountered this glorious, slightly under life-sized terracotta head. She hails from about an hour northwest of Rome from Pyrgi (Cerveteri’s port), and was once part of the pedimental sculpture of one of the small 4th century temples
I’ve long admired this statue – a feat of large scale lost-wax casting giving a sense of the scale possible (infinite!), but also the surface subtleties achievable. Now headless, this standing gentleman has the distinct comportment and garments of an orator or magistrate – a statue mode used in the post-Classical period for honorifics set
Two of my favorite mythological rogues come together in this biggish terracotta statuette (or at 40 centimeters, is it rather a smallish statue?) in Boston. Herakles has passed out drunk somewhere (again), and the precocious prankster Eros has taken the opportunity to play dress-up with the hero’s signature lion-skin. With one hand resting on his
The propitiously preserved part of a tall, slender grave stele, this head at the Met is one of my favorites. The relief is very low, but somehow the sculptor has managed to really nail the sense of volume: the planes of the cheeks and brow, the ornate ear and that terrific hair. I’m particularly interested
I’d wager you haven’t seen this wild-man in nature…it’s the disembodied half-life-sized (14.5 cm) head of a centaur, identifiable by his profusion of curls and two rows of visible teeth, here inlaid in silver (exposed teeth were markers of heroes, hybrid beasts, and the odd god – centaurs in particular had a penchant for biting).
This portrait at Boston’s MFA is one of the finest and most challenging I’ve come across, and I somewhat doubt that a pithy caption will do it justice… It is a most handsome face, with high cheekbones cheekbones, squared jaw, and pouty chin. The full lips are very slightly parted as if in mid-exhale, and
Odysseus was at his bravest and most wily when orchestrating his comrades’ grand escape from the cave of the dread Cyclops Polyphemus. After knocking him out with strong wine (a dirty trick) and blinding him with a heated and pointy branch, he tied the giant’s fleecy sheep together in threes with a Greek strapped to
Stark and stylized and utterly exposed, this little marble plaque is something of an oddity, but an oddity with a fun find-spot and somewhat helpful inscription. Female nether parts are shown – what’s the delicate term these days? Maybe one should stick to the Latin ‘pudenda’ (‘shameful parts’), but it seems a bit judgy. It
This portrait has all the best things: basanite (the hard dark stone is perhaps my favorite), a dab hand at defacement (of the zealous Late Antique kind), and the (fabricated?) features of the Gens Julii shining through the shined up face of its adoptive son Germanicus. Promising young Germanicus might have been Augustus’ top pick
Dancing with what is sometimes referred to as ‘orgiastic’ abandon (I do so love when dour early 20th century German scholars sprinkle their descriptions with such unexpected gems) this ecstatic marble maenad in Dresden (acquired by the Albertinum in 1901), has attracted a great deal of attention for centuries if not millennia. She is usually
There’s not much better than High Classical relief sculpture, and this Athenian grave stele carved in the decades after the famed Parthenon frieze is second to none. Languid in her chair a young woman is gorgeously draped, with the crinkly fabric of her chiton dripping over her breasts to puddle in her lap and delicate
Plopped among the stringy necks of Republican worthies, Julio-Claudian chiseled cheekbones, and Vespasian’s cultivated crag, this portrait in Copenhagen is a big fat outlier. The fleshy marble giant is usually thought to represent Vitellius, famous for his diminutive reign and outsized appetites, with its unusual corpulence a nod to the emperor’s physical reality. If ancient
Although the subject is tried and true (boy meets girl, war-torn romance, the allure of the Amazons, yada yada yada) this relief is groundbreaking in all the best ways. The metope was one of a dozen relief panels (one of four that survive) that once wrapped around the Temple of Hera (Temple E) at Selinunte
With that troubled brow, sharp cat-like cheekbones, and slightly downturned eyes, this soulful portrait is most beguiling and attractive. It was excavated in 1861 near the Temple of Apollo in Cyrene (modern Libya), but most essential facts about his identity and dating continue to elude scholars. The casting, coldwork (check out those wispy chin hairs)
You might not have seen these before and if so might be at a loss about what exactly you’re looking at….I am to some extent, and would be out to sea without some good old archaeological context. Twenty-six life-sized smashed clay heads were found in an early 5th century B.C. tomb within the monumental necropolis
This is my favourite relief from the great monument built for the satrap Mausolos by his Greek-steeped, grief-stricken sister-wife Artemisia on his death at Halikarnassos (Bodrum for you modern hedonists). The monument was gigantic and a sensation, making most ancient ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ list, roughly rectangular in shape, with an imposing podium with
This fragmentary lady was unearthed near the citadel of Mycenae in the late 19th century (not by Schliemann, poor guy) and, although she is widely represented in art history textbooks, remains something of an an enigma, sometimes colloquially referred to as the ‘Woman in the Window’. Her fame is rightly deserved, with that stepped, wig-like
Plaited, twined, and knotted to pool over her brow, this young woman’s hairstyle is one of the most elaborate of the increasingly far-fetched hairy confections of the Roman Empire. Her identity is not known and that prim expression gives little away, but the quality of the carving sees to indicate she was from an aristocratic
This portrait came as something as a shock to me – I’m used to seeing shined up Severan portraits with stylised somnolent eyes, alarming hairdos, and an all together more graphic, surface-oriented approach to the carving (if that convoluted thought makes any kind of sense). Here, the heavy-lidded third century aspect is there, not exaggerated
This ivory statuette is both far out of my comfort zone (Classical art) and very much part of the Mediterranean story. She is a Buddhist yakshini (previously erroneously identified as Lakshmi), measuring just under twenty-five centimeters, certainly Indian in origin but found in Pompeii, evidently reaching that fabled city before its destruction in 79 A.D.
Livia is one of those characters I just can’t bring myself to like for reasons difficult to pin down, perhaps owing to her portrayal as meddlesome kingmaker in ancient literature and modern television series, and partly because of a personal aversion to the hairstyle she popularised (the odious ‘nodus’). But those are my issues (mea
The sheer bounty of material from ancient Olympia can be a little overwhelming – after all, for over five centuries it was arguably the most important sanctuary in the Greek world and this the site of its most conspicuous and competitive dedications. So it would be easy to overlook this terracotta group. And that would
A penchant for voyeurism flourished in the artistic climate of the Hellenistic period, and not surprisingly Aphrodite was front and center. (In mythological terms, the idea had been around for far longer: think Akteon and Artemis, Peleus and Thetis, Gyges and Nyssia, satyrs and maenads, etc.) The real innovation in the 4th century B.C. was
This little marble fellow in Athens is pretty special. He hails from Amorgos in the Cyclades, where during the third millennium B.C. figurines developed slightly differently to their brethren on other islands. He belongs to the so-called ‘Plastiras’ type – an early (and potentially short-lived) experimentation into rendering the human form, and one that veered
With that designer scruff of a beard and magnificent hat, there’s a lot to love about this portrait, but there is much more at play here than a manly fashion statement… Because that’s no ordinary hat: it is a kausia (the special northern cousin of the petasos, the Greek traveler’s hat) nestled on his head
I’ve been thinking about tritons lately, those marine hybrid creatures that so delightfully combine manly torsos with elaborate fishy tails. The essential flexibility of these imaginary bodies is their best selling point and their popularity flourished in the late Hellenistic period – bounded not by corporeal limits, only artistic flair. Their dramatic inclusion in sculptural
While sharing many characteristics with his archaic kin, the so-called ‘Rampin rider’ is on the whole far more lively with a beguiling dip and tilt to the head, extraordinary plaits and trimmed beard, amused doe-eyed expression, and small asymmetries throughout. The head was found on the Akropolis in 1877 and was later donated to the
’Tis the time for feasting (and hunkering) in much of the Northern hemisphere. As it was for Herakles in his later career, when he had more time to carouse. And this stage of the hero’s life – athletic action man gone to seed – was explored artistically with great relish beginning in the later 4th
Is there any way to overestimate the immense impact of the Persian Wars on Athenian (even panHellenic) consciousness and self-determination? Shown here in relief (not such a big one, just over 50 cm tall), the city’s patron goddess is helmeted and standing in repose, one hand on her hip, and the other grasping the butt
This miniature, full-length rendition of Demosthenes – that great Athenian statesman and orator – is a frequently overlooked masterpiece. His chiton reveals sloped shoulders and the distinctly unathletic body that famously prevented him from gymnastic pursuits as a child and pushed him into a career as an orator. As part of that precocious training, he
I count this as one of the most glorious (and innovative?) of all Roman imperial portraits: Caracalla, with his fierce glower in the years just before he became sole-ruler (more on that later…). He arguably inherited an empire already on a downward slide. Born in Gaul, even his parentage spoke to a vast territory, Septimius
It could be argued that the very pose and activity of this delightfully carved Nike was chosen just to highlight the skills of an extremely talented sculptor. Because that carving is nothing less than the work of a true virtuoso. Originally part of the balustrade partially surrounding the tiny Temple of Athena Nike on the
Staggering in terms of preservation and beauty, undeniably masterful bronze working (and those unsettling eyes!), this head of Augustus is in every survey book on Roman art and portraiture worth its salt. It shows Augustus, the freshly minted princeps of Rome, as a young man, which he was at the time of this portrait’s manufacture
Many are familiar with Alexander the Great and his distinctive portraiture. And indeed the young genius was idolized from the time of his death to Napoleon and beyond! Shown here is Pompey the Great (Pompey Magnus), who built his military reputation young and forcefully. Before he formally added Magnus to his name (deliberately echoing Alexander
Magnificent in every way, this centaur is full of exquisite mid-Hellenistic craftsmanship. When Alexander’s successors came westward to roost, they brought back precious metals and some most peculiar Persian aristocratic modes of drinking. Just look at this fellow, full of pathos and glower (face shown better in the second photo). His festive gilded wreath places
This is a most excellent bronze, and so far thus attracted far less attention that it deserves! The subject is clear – Herakles resting after the labours that ran him ragged over most of the known world and beyond. In my view this is one of the very finest representations of the hero at rest
While sharing many characteristics with his archaic kin, the so-called ‘Rampin rider’ is on the whole far more lively with a beguiling dip and tilt to the head, extraordinary plaits and trimmed beard, amused doe-eyed expression, and small asymmetries throughout. The head was found on the Akropolis in 1877 and was later donated to the
Hailing from Tiberius’ famous grotto in Sperlonga (south of Rome) this is Diomedes (that gorgeous hand!) absconding with the palladion of Troy (its protectress and cult statue of Athena carved from wood) as that city was pillaged. There is a lot to be said about Sperlonga and the Trojan palladion. But not here! What I
She is not necessarily my favourite of the Athenian Akropolis korai (I tend to prefer her jollier sisters), and sometimes referred to as “sullen”, but her more solemn beauty is important in so many ways. While her format (standing, draped maiden) is familiar from the decades long tradition of glorious sculpted maidens erected on the
Commodus was not necessarily a deranged, power-hungry sadist, but this lazy-eyed, buffed up portrait of the emperor wearing the attributes of Hercules certainly does beg the question… It’s a terrific spectacle, found in the city of Rome on the Esquiline and now in the Musei Capitolini. The emperor’s lush cap of curls is covered by
Anchoring one side of the Met’s luminous sculpture court is an enormous sarcophagus with a quintessentially Roman take on eternal love. Flanked by two imposing lion heads and surrounded by a bucolic retinue, the main scene is mythological, with Selene (moon goddess) being pulled across the sky in a chariot, gazing down on her beloved
For much of its ancient Greece was a ‘Thalassocracy’ – its settlements clustered close to the coast and inhabitants living and dying by the sea’s bounty and inherent dangers. It is difficult to fully comprehend how the Mediterranean determined daily habits and religion, drove innovation and warfare, and facilitated migration and trade. The behaviors and
There are a lot of ancient representations of Aphrodite to have survived, but this important terracotta one is frequently ignored these days – passed over to focus on her splashier marble sisters. Currently in Berlin, she is usually known as the ‘von Heyl Aphrodite’, acquired by the Berlin Antikensammlung in an auction of the von