Harvard Art Museums > 1960.524: Middle Comedy Actor Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Middle Comedy Actor , 1960.524,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/290444. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1960.524 Title Middle Comedy Actor Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture Date 400 BCE-375 BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Macedonia, Olynthos (Macedonia) Period Classical period, Late Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/290444 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta Technique Mold-made Dimensions 10.2 × 4.5 × 3 cm (4 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/16 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson Accession Year 1960 Object Number 1960.524 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Figure on far left of image. Standing actor wearing a short tunic, traveling cloak, and conical pileus, weeping. Mask with pointed beard and narrow mouth. Head cocked right, he brings his right arm, along with his cloak, to right eye, as if drying a tear. In doing this, he lifts his clothes, revealing a prosthetic phallus. Would have been painted originally. Traces of white ground extant at front. Solid and sturdy. Mold-made in one single-sided mold. Rough, plain back. Red, grainy clay. Commentary This small terracotta actor is dressed as one of several recognizable character types from Greek comedy: the old man with a traveler’s hat and cloak. A better-preserved example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (13.225.13) depicts the same character and is thought to have been last used as a funerary gift along with 13 other similar figurines. Our own old man could have also been part of a set along with a friend, 1960.525, who instead of weeping, holds a jug of wine and smiles. Publication History Fogg Art Museum, The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities, A Special Exhibition, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1961), p. 35, no. 295 Exhibition History The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961 Related Works 1960.525 Middle Comedy Actor Sculpture Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
