Grotesque, 2nd century b.c.–1st century a.d.; Hellenistic
Greek
Bronze
Technical Glossary
Greek
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1912 (12.229.6)
Since its discovery in 1727, this figure's identity has been debated. His disproportionately large head has a prominent nose, canines and whites of the eyes originally inlaid in silver, and hair and a beard once rendered in a matte black metal inlay. The circular area on the back of his head may have been for an attached curl of hair. The close-fitting garment reveals his misshapen body, and he wears sandals. Prevailing scholarly opinion has called the figure a mime and dated it to the first century B.C./A.D. A recent suggestion is that he is a caricature of an Alexandrian pedant, datable to the early second century B.C.
Related
Index Terms
Material and Technique
- Metalwork, Bronze
- Metalwork, Bronze, Europe
- Sculpture, In the Round, Europe
- Sculpture, In the Round, Europe, Balkan Peninsula (including Greece)
