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A black and white image of a terracotta man standing and holding a shield. He has a large, round belly and a beard and mustache. He is wearing a draped cloth around his hips.

A black and white image of a terracotta man standing and holding a shield on a white background and grey platform. He has a large, round belly, a beard and mustache, and a bald head. His face has a large, round nose and deep furrowed brows. He is wearing a short draped cloth around his hips. He holds his shield in his left hand next to his torso. The shield is a circle with a star shape in the center. His right arm is down and pointing out at his side.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.501
Title
Comic actor with shield
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
c. 350 BCE
Period
Classical period, Late
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/290844

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
12.3 × 8.3 × 4.7 cm (4 13/16 × 3 1/4 × 1 7/8 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.501
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Mostly complete figurine.

Standing actor, draped, holding a shield. Rounded bald head with abundant wavy hair at the sides. Furrowed brow; deep-set, almond-shaped eyes with both lids rendered in relief; broad nose. Open mouth, with the mustache and beard of a typical mask. Authoritative expression.

He wears a simple garment, wrapped in the style of a himation, leaving the right arm bare, rolled around the chest, and draped over the left shoulder. The garment is short, however, stretched taught across a large, round belly, and ending just under it. A prosthetic phallus would have been exposed; perhaps that is what hangs by his left thigh. Shapely legs; right engaged, left bent at knee. The right arm extends forward and to the side and would have held a now missing object (a spear?). The left arm is kept close to the body, and obscured by a small, round shield with a six-point star in high relief. The back is plain and rough and seems to hint at a hump.

Would have been painted originally. Traces of white ground extant at front. Pink pigment is visible on the shield, and red on the legs.

Hollow but heavy; partly open bottom. Mold-made in multiple, deep, single-sided molds: one for the head, one for each arm, one for the body, and one for the shield. The back was formed with a plain slab of clay, rougher in texture. Oval venthole at mid back. Join seams carefully concealed. Partial fingerprints on interior surfaces.

Light pink clay with some grog inclusions.

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. 298

Exhibition History

  • The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961

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