Adaptation of Apollo Lykeios by Praxiteles
Roman
2nd century
Marble
96.6
“The place…is dedicated to the Apollo Lykeios [the wolf]. You see his statue there; the one leaning on the pillar, with a bow in the left hand. The right arm bent over the head indicates that the god is resting after some great exertion.”
– Lucian, Anacharsis
This elegant torso is based on the 4th-century statue of Apollo in the gymnasion known as the Lykeion (Lyceum), the center for physical and intellectual training where the philosopher Aristotle taught. Reduced-scale statues were especially popular among the Romans and have been found in both domestic and religious contexts and in interior and exterior settings.
Aphrodite and Eros
Greek (Myrina)
ca. 120 BC
terracotta, traces of polychrome
83.64
Prior to the Hellenistic period, females (unlike males) were rarely depicted nude. Like many of the early images of nude women, this statuette shows Aphrodite, in this case seminude. Here, the goddess of love gazes into a mirror as she adjusts her hair, and her son, Eros, holds a cosmetic box. Such complicated terracottas were made from molds; the cast pieces were assembled and painted with the bright colors used to ornament stone and terracotta statues in antiquity.
Septimius Severus
Roman
ca. 200 with 17th century additions and modifications
marble
67.50
Young Woman in Chiton and Mantle
Greek
ca. 150 BC
Marble
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
64.50
In carving this statue, the artist used the arms and heavy folds of a mantle to emphasize the woman’s torso and the thin chiton clinging to her stomach. Such attention to the intricacy of garments is common in statues of the mid-2nd century BC, Although the outthrust hip is a pose often in depictions of Aphrodite as the half-draped goddess of the fuller clothing of this statue suggests it might be a small scale portrait.
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