Artifacts to Know Flashcards
Kriophoros, 7th Century
‘ram-bearer’, found in Crete
Bronze statuette - possibly Hermes or a mortal shepard
Stalk and mass below from the direct casting channel
Heavy ‘cretan’ features - large almond eyes, high eyebrows (like kouros)
Cretan loin-cloth
Nikandre Kore
7th Century BC, Delos
Dedication to Artemis
Very little indication of the female form aside from waist and slightly defined chest - left arm missing
Sacred Gate Kouros
600-590 BC, Athens
Bulging eyes are an attic feature - schematic pectorals - legs and left hand mostly gone
Sounion Kouros
590 BC, Southern most region of Attic Peninsula
Found in Sanctuary of Poseidon, colossal scale
Defined, schematic knee caps and ears
Muscles on back and hair are very geometric
Bronze Kriophoros Statuette, 6th Century BC
Found in Sparta
Clothing makes it easier to cover the joints between pieces with folds
Example of statue archetype other than Kouros
Samian Kouros
6th Century BC, Found in the Heraion of Samos
According to verticle inscription on the left thigh of the kouros - dedicated by Isches, son of Rhesis
Very soft approach to muscles, clear veins of blue in the marble
New York Kouros
6th Century BC, Attica
Purpose unknown - stylistically Attic but marble Naxian
Kleobis and Biton
580 BC, Delphi
Thought to be deliberately archaising
focus on robust, curved forms rather than patterning as with Athenian
Names come from Herodotus - sculptor thought to be from Argos
Example of dioskouroi? twin gods? Castor and Pollux
Delphi perfect place to display wealth
Moscophoros
570 BC, Athens
‘calf-bearer’
Archaic hairstyle
Berlin Kore
570 BC, Attica, found in Keratea (east)
Pattern of folds in fabric highly stylised - accentuated the hips and waist
Holding Pomegranite - funerary
Volomandran Kouros
560 BC, Attica
Middle Archaic style
Muscles are softened, less schematic
Ptoion Kouros
550 BC, Boiotia
Emphasis on inverted v of abdominals
Thin lips and longer face could be a regional style
Piraeus Apollo
Late 6th Century BC, Port of Athens
found in warehouse with other art from various periods - burned down by Sulla
Possibly deliberately Archaising
Example of a pose change in bronze
One of the few kouroi which clearly depicts a god - would have held bow and patera (reciprocal religious mentality)
Herakles being presented to Olympus Pediment
Second quarter 6th Century BC, original location unknown
Made from limestone
speculative idea of politicising sanctuary art - no written evidence
Peisistratus - imagery pf Herakles constructs his own Heraklean alter-ego
East Pediment of Olympia
6th Century BC, Temple of Zeus at Olympia
Pelops chariot story (Pelops bribes someone to replace lynch pins with wax and the charioteer dies thus curing the Pelops house)
Divine authority, consequences of breaking an oath
Compositionally static
West Pediment of Olympia
6th Century BC, Temple of Zeus at Olympia
Centauromachy - represents defeat of Hubris and Barbarism (calm faces on humans, savage expression on centaur)
Figures surge towards the centre
Often given as example of how theatre informed the change in art (athenocentric)
Phrasikleia Kore
550-40 BC, Merenda, Attica
Parian marble, over life-sized
Brightly painted red dress, incised decoration of rosettes and swastikas - most likely guilded as well
Funerary monument for unmarried girl
Merenda Kouros
540 BC, Attica Painted hair, eyebrows, nipples and pubic hair Smaller eyes (local style?) Softer muscles Less exaggerated waist to hip ratio Snail curls in hair
Lyons Kore
540 BC, Acropolis
Distinct muscles in the arms for a woman
Kroisos Kouros
Anavyssos, 530 BC
Exaggerated thighs (idealising proportions)
Geometric hair - fashion older kouroi
Stiff posture
Warrior-athelete elite type - upper class access to gymnasia
Lines of symmetry: verticle, v shape of groin and upper abdomen
Found at coastal location - trading
Peplos Kore
530 BC, Acropolis
Painted scenes of animals on skirt - usually utilised for a goddess, expensive paint and inlay
very small waist, simple skirt with limited folding
Aristion Stele
520 BC, Near Marathon, Attica
Bearded hoplite soldier
Would have been brightly coloured
Over 2m high
Antenor Kore
520 BC, Athens Inlaid eyes, came with incription Over 2m tall Bronze used in jewellery Parion chiton and heavy diagonal Himation
Red Shoes Kore
510 BC, Athens
Parian Marble
Very unusual proportions
some polychrome still visible in deeper folds of the skirt
Getty Kouros
c.530, Provincence UNKNOWN - possibly a forgery
Exemplifies the difficulty of dating stylistically, the style is attic, the marble is Thasian, the top half is seemingly much earlier Archaic than the bottom half which is highly naturalistic
Flaw in the marble on the forehead also very unusual - many examples of abandoned projects when such imperfections were revealed
Tyrannicides
514 BC, Athens (plaster casts found in Baiae - heavy lid suggest many copies made to cause a build up)
Bronze
Version which survives is the second - because they are depicted like this on vases while the originals were still in Persia - originals probably kouroi, returned by Alexander
Harmodios: young, with sword raised (beardless and boyish like Kritios boy)
Aristogeiton: older, blade low, draping cloak for protection
severe style
Metopes from Heraion
510 BC, South West Coast of Italy (Paestum)
PROSCRIPTIVE temple decoration: depicting morally deplorable figures like Sisyphus, Tantalus and Tityus (the sinner’s cycle) rather than instructive of pious behaviour
The Blonde Boy
Earth 5th Century BC, Acropolis
Example ofr variation in hairstyle - waves rather than rolls or long plaits - the shift from long hair to short for aristocratic youths
Kritios Boy
480 BC, Acropolis
Acropolis left in ruins 30 years after Persian sach- could have been sculpted at any point within this time or before
Rolled hair radiating from crown, deeply incised geometric hair - eyes made seperately and insertef as with bronze castes
Body and neck seperate - suggests head could be swapped out because of the clean break
Relief of Boy
470 BC, Temple of Athena, Sunium
Pensive mood comveyed in image of boy crowning himself - an established archetype
Distant in mood from archaic - subtler, less emphatic use of conventional poses and types
Personal votive example
Relief of Athena
470 BC, Acropolis
Pensive head bowed, possibly even a mourning position - potentially facing plaque of athenain dead
Goddess as a civic votive - has her plumed helmet and public staff
Gravestone production in Athens halts at beginning of 5th century until 430 BC
In this period annual state burials and funerary oration began
Penelope from Persepolis
Persepolis, 460 BC
Greek marble and figure - cannot be original of Roman copies because it was buried during Alexander’s sack of the city in 330 BC
Flow of fabric / composition of body are late Classical - revealing the form of the woman with the illusion of wet fabric creating translucence
The Riace Bronzes
Shipwreck Riace, c.460 BC
Stance in in the severe style, anatomy suggests a later date
Debate surrounding whether made by the same sculptor or in the same studio, perhaps from the same caste with small adjustments
Brash youth vs more relaxed elder reminiscent of the Tyrannicides - would have been holding weapons and shields
Female Figure Supporting Incense Burner
Delphi, c.460 BC
Naturalistic folding of Peplos - compare with Delphi Charioteer
Inference of the positioning of the female form in the folding over the left leg which is protruding, weight on back leg
Motya Charioteer
Motya (Phoenician settlement off coast of Sicily), c.470 BC (stratigraphic layer associated with destruction of motya in 397 gives terminus ante quem - stylistcally early snail curls)
Swinging contraposto pose, left hand resting on hip, right arm raised (both lost)
Wearing long Chiton
Almost wet drapery effect - genitals, posterior and muscles clearly visible
Delphi Charioteer
Delphi, 470 BC
Best surviving bronze
Severe style
Commemorates the victory of Polyzalus of Gela in Pythian Games
inlaid eyes - columnar form, geometric skirt folding
Classical facial expression
Tilt of the head is main departure from Kouroi and the naturalistic rendering of the feet
Porticello Head
Southern Italy (offshore), c.450 BC
Thinning locks, impressive beard and mustache slightly departing from established types - could be a ‘portrait’
Probably elderly citizen or a centaur, whilst idealising - still an element of aging in the forehead lines and a hooked nose
Difficult to date - hair could be zeus or aristogeiton rather than later 5th century
Diskobolus of Myron
original from c.460 BC, most referenced copy from Terme, 140 AD
Stillness within action - moment between backswing and forward thrust
Reaction to Archaic ideal of symmetry - deliberately contrasting arch of arms with straight lines of bent legs
Still has internal balance and proportion
Details realistic, anatomy still static
Artemision God
Cape Artemision (Northern Euboea), c.460-50 BC Found on important trade route Hurling either lightening bolt or trident (zeus or poseidon?) Anatomy incorrect, one arm longer than the other, torso should be dramatically affected / twisted by the activity of the limbs (frontality maintained) Pose can only be properly viewed from front
Athena Promachos (Athena of War)
Acropolis, 456 BC
Colossal, bronze, situated on Acropolis via Propylaea, statue lost - survives only through description of size and materials - could be seen from ships in port
Athena Parthenos - Athena the Virgin (also known as Chriselephantine statue of Athena)
Acropolis, 438 BC
Made from Ivory and Gold, also Colossal - survives to us in smaller marble copies
Athena holding Nike in right hand, left hand supported on Aegis which shelters a snake, dressed in Attic Peplos - wearing helmet with a Sphinx and Pegasi
Base (reconstructed from Roman copies and Pliny) depicts what seems to be creation of Pandora (Pausanias, Pliny) - possibly pandora the local earth goddess rather than gift-giver
Athena Nike Parapet Frieze
Athens, 410 BC
Created in late Peloponnesian War - after several Athenian defeats
Depicts Nike adjusting her sandle
Good example of the wet drapery effect - emphasis more on the movement of the garmet than the figure itself
Marble Head of warrior
Aegina, Temple of Aphaia, 5th Century BC
Stele of Hegeso
Athens, c.410 BC
Woman depicted in private setting but on public display because of visibility of the Necropolis
Tension between Oikos and Polis
High backed chair typical of private interior scenes in vases
slave v free born woman - slave has simpler clothes and hair (in snood vs elaborate updo)
Perhaps holding necklace - damage and loss of plychrome makes it unclear
Attention of both characters on jewellery not audience or eachother
why is she not depicting raising children or working at loom?
Stele of Ampharete
c.400 BC, Athens
Depicts grandmother and child (epitaph) - lack of differentiation between ages of women (defined by childhood, young woman and married not necessarily age - Stears)
Ideals of fertility and associations between women, death and loss already exist - just reinforced
Kephisodotus Statue of Peace and Wealth
Roman first century AD copy of 375 BC Bronze original, Athens
Dated this way because it was erected in Agora between 375-360: cult of Eirene introduced to Athens in 375, Panathenaic Amphorae dated to 360 show images of the statue
Eirene = young woman wearing peplos and himation, holding sceptre and young Ploutos
Stele of Pausimache
c.350 BC, Athens
Figure views herself in same way as passer-by (looking at herself in the mirror)
Adornment generally not considered a virtue, but her epitaph notes her goodness and good sense
Female homeric heroisaton - elaborate god-gifted jewellery in epic?
Marathon Boy
Aegean Sea, off coast of Marathon, 340 BC
Ridgeway suggests the left hand held a tray of cups for guests
Fillet with leaves could make him an athlete but doesn’t look typically athletic unless its a very specific sport
Exaggerated contraposto and soft musculature - late classical / early hellenistic (associated with Praxiteles)
Terme Boxer
c.330-50 BC, found in Terme, Italy
Not idealising - cauliflower ears, broken nose, scarred face
Possible use of different Alloys of bronze to create the effect of bruising (evolution of polychrome)
lips, wounds and scars originally inlaid with copper
Face is expressive
Aphrodite of Knidos
original 4th Century BC, survives in copies from 150 BC
First nude female cult statue (female nudes on pots and cretan goddess figurines - probably votive)
left hand holds towel, right hand covers pubic area
Writings believed to by Lucan - tell story of man who snuck into the temple at night tried to have sex with the statue, leaving it stained
Hermes and Infant Dionysus
4th Century BC, Olympia
Dionysus in left arm, weight carried through the fabric draping down. Right arm lost, beleived to have held a bunch of grapes to entertain the baby)
soft musculature, relaxed posture, domestic scenario
Apollo Sauroktonos
original 4th Century BC, survives in Roman copies (1st Century AD)
Leaning against a tree, pointing arrow (lost) at lizard perched their
Relaxed posture, soft musculature, somewhat bathetic scenario
Demeter of Knidos
c.450 BC, Knidos
Heavy folding in fabric
Quintessential depiction of a deity, seated in complex robes
Missing arms and hands
More of a matriarchal depiction of a goddess - the hairstyle, serene expression, slightly mature facial features highlighting role as mother (fertility goddess, dualing approach when compared with Aphrodite)
Possibly cult, possibly votive - a little bit small for the featured votive statue
Piraeus Artemis A
Second half of 4th Century BC, Piraeus
Clay remnant where the quiver would have been attached to back diagonally. Pose is one which Artemis and Apollo sare on pots and in other statues
Hand would have held phiale (offering bowl)
Though seems to be based on archaic model it had the polyclitan stance
Bronze eyelashes and inlayed eyes - one is missing
Melon style hair
Piraeus Artemis B
Second half of 4th Century BC, Piraeus Smaller of the two, less well preserved Right side of head distorted by swelling, bronze crumbling in places More Praxitelean stance intact quiver
Temple of Artemis (Pediment), Corcyra
Archaic Temple, Corcyra (Modern Corfu)
Pedimental sculture depicts Medusa and two Panthers
Highly schematic and geometric (hair) in design - the form of Medusa resembles the geometric Swastika
Distinctly not programmatic - very little tying the imagery to Artemis (Panthers and the hunt?), nor does it tie the temple to the regional mythology
relief style is very flat in the sense that though it prodrudes out relatively far in places this doesn’t effect the roundness of the forms
girdle of intertwined snakes = fertility symbol
Chryselephantine Statues at Delphi
All Mid-sixth Century, Delphi - identities all quite speculative, ivory has been blackened over time, eyes and eyebrows inlayed
Artemis - golden tiara and earrings
Apollo - archaic smile, hair is gilded silver
Siphnian Treasury Pediment
525 BC, Delphi
Supported by Caryatid rather than normal columns
East Pediment - only surviving - Herakles and Apollo competing for Delphic tripod
Siphnian Treasury Frieze art
East frieze - Assembly of gods in Trojan War - arguing, and a duel over a dead warrior
North Frieze - gigantomachy (old order vs new) - this was visible from the sacred way as they ascended to the oracle
West frieze - very little survives, believed to have been the judgement of paris but the identity of the goddess interpreted as Aphrodite is contested - no archaic examples of Aphrodite depicted with a necklace - that’s more hellensitic
South frieze - significant portions missing, theme unclear
Athenian Treasury Metopes
510-480 BC, Delphi
Depict various scenes of Theseus and Herakles
Athenian local mythology with Herakles as a foil?
Temple of Zeus (Olympia) Metopes
463 BC, Olympia
depicting the 12 labours of Herakles, increasing in age as they progress (as designated by the facial hair) - along short sides of the temple, not in chronological order
Grouped by proximity to the region with six based in Pelops, others far off
Badly damaged, their positions are mostly speculative based on where the detached ones were found, Pausanias source for other half
Herakles has expressive facial expressions, not as much as the centaurs but still scenario specific
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (frieze)
c.350 BC, Halicarnassus (modern Turkey, on coast) - Mausolus from Caria (Anatolian)
Depicts the amazonomachy - very typical for a greek temple, stock imagery rather than programme
Hunting frieze - aspect of a king’s life in times of peace - demonstration of his power
Centauromachy - stock temple imagery from Greece
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (free standing sculpture)
Mausoleus and Artemisia - free standing sculptures in a late classical style - exaggerated folding of fabric. Face of Artemisia destroyed, over life-size
Lions - guardian animals in the Anatolian tradition
Horse and chariot at top - culminating point, visible from the harbour
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (architectural elements)
3 main parts: lofty podium or base, a colonnade of 36 columns arranged (probably) 11 by 9 above this (excavation shows these to be of the ionic order), above this a pyramid shaped roof reducing to a platform which had a crowning four-horse chariot
pyramidal roof might be egyptising (although could just be interpreted as an ornate base for the chariot statues)
Stele of Eupheros
Kerameikos, 430 BC
Young man with strigil in himation with headband
traces of painted animals in recessed centre of pediment, found also with smaller fragmentary plain pedimental stele (main statue buried relatively soon after its erection)
Stele of Prokleides, Archippe and Prokles
Attica, 330 BC
reaffirmation of family unity at a time when it is tested by the loss of a family member and the gender-divisive ideology of the polis which controls the space where the funerary rites take place
dead person is not marked out by a certain pose or position - not meant ot be singled out but is rather still a member of the idealised oikos presented
Purpose of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus, 350 BC
Built at a high vantage point, not in necropolis - coastal location, trading port
Whilst it does function as a literal tomb – Mausolus was not only a dynast – he had shifted the capital of his land to Halicarnassus and thus in a sense (re)founding Halicarnassus or at the very least redefining its significance – creating a founding mythology for the city
Kind of a ‘Heroon’ -> in the same way many Greek cities claim a hero as their founder, for a very obvious example -> Theseus founding Athens
Remains of food offerings found at the site of the Mausoleum -> eggs, chicken, cuts of goat and ox (typical offerings of the middle east rather than of Greece)
resting place for native anatolian, known to have spoken greek and admired Greece greatly, given power by the persian empire
Nereid Monument Pediments
Xanthos (Lycia) c.390 BC
East Pediments: Arbinnas and wife depicted in similar positions to Zeus and Hera (Ian Jenkins) on east frieze of Parthenon - with smaller figures (probably children) and a dog
West Pediment: very little survives, seems to be soldiers going into battle
Nereid Monument Friezes
Xanthos (Lycia) c.390 BC
Greater Podium Frieze: generalised scenes of war and conflict - not obvious Greeks vs Persians or Amazons - mostly just greeka
Upper Podium Frieze: Arbinnas depicted in several ways (possibly showing his conquests) - point of interest is a Persian depiction with a Parasol like bas relief of Xerxes in Persepolis - very persian
Architrave Frieze: More combat sequences and a Boar hunt and banquet preperations
Nereid Monuments Free Standing Figures
Generally believed to be sea nymphs - eleven figure survive (dolphin and cuttlefish statues found at their feet) - all have late-classical wind-blown fabric/ wet drapery effect
Alexander Sarcophagus
Sidon, late 4th century BC
Peculiar - inhumation in marble not very greeks (remains of linen in sarcophagi found with this one suggest a desire to preserve the body? Inscriptions also theatren to curse anyone who disturbs them - others not this one) - marble is greek medium for history, tombs like this are Macedonian (with owner cremated) - Pheonician patron
Long friezes: One of a hunt, one of a battle (similar imagery on short friezes)
Friezes generally considered to depict the most important events of Abdalonymos’ reign and his relationship to alexander (since he was king of Sidon because of Alexander)
Hunt frieze represents the greeks and persians hunting together - phoenician ruler shown prominently alongside Alexander - famous royal hunting park at sidon - possible intended setting → Krateros dedication at delphi employs similar themes of a famous lion-hunt to express special relationship to Alexander -> Abdalonymos is the protagonist of the hunt frieze not Alexander
Portrait of Themistokles
Original c.425 BC, Ostia (original dating is entirely subjective)
Less idealism than high classical statuary - prominant crease in brow suggests age and contemplation
Portrait of Perikles
Original c.425 BC - survives through Roman Copies - original date is up for debate
Very idealising and youthful - strong features, clear complexion suggesting man in his prime - beard suggest age and experience but this is not reflected in the features of his face - age at its most idealised
Portrait of Homer
Original c.460 BC - only survives in Roman Copies - original date subjective
Not accepted by all to represent Homer as blind - does seem to have eyes closed - tradition of blind bard through Demodocus and Teiresias (blind seer) - physical blindness expressing inner virtue - blindness enhancing memory - he probably wasn’t blind, just a trope
Archaising approach - beard is geometric, lends itself to myticism and mythological pre-history
Nereid Monument cultural integrations
Xanthos (Lycia) c.390 BC
Podium = persian tomb, Lycian style of pillars (and it’s a house tomb) Lycian tomb art depicting complimentary but contrasting themes on opposite sides of the monuments – east pediment vs west pediment
east pediment mimics zeus and hera in acropolis -> also very reminiscent of bas-relief in persepolis, persian hair style, many of the figures in full profile, -> attic stelae old type in front of persian king , bare chest but ‘greekness’ demonstrated in the slight deviations from full profile (second figure from left looking outward), the tiny bit deeper relief – parsegadae
