Harvard Art Museums > 1934.189.1: Standing Harpocrates 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"Standing Harpocrates , 1934.189.1,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, May 01, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/291823. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1934.189.1 Title Standing Harpocrates Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture, statuette Date 1-200 CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient) Period Roman Imperial period, Middle Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/291823 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta, traces of paint Technique Mold-made Dimensions 12.1 × 6.8 cm (4 3/4 × 2 11/16 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Through Helmut von Erffa - Postage Fund Accession Year 1934 Object Number 1934.189.1 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 First figure on left of image. Incomplete figurine; missing everything below the upper thigh, but otherwise in good condition. Standing male child, dressed, leaning on an altar to the left. He wears a high crown over a wreath and diadem. Wavy hair, parted at the middle, frames the round face and falls down to chubby cheeks. “Squinting” eyes with both lids rendered in relief; flattened, round nose; narrow, puckered mouth with plump lips. He wears a short-sleeved tunic with a plain, loose neck; vertical folds fall down the body in attempt at naturalism. The body is discernible underneath the tunic, especially the round abdomen, which sports a large, depressed navel. The right arm, bare, goes up across the chest, right hand resting at the neck and index finger on the mouth. The left arm embraces a long and narrow cornucopia (horn of plenty). The boy leans on an altar placed at his left. Atop the altar, a brawny animal stands on two legs and faces forward; likely a falcon. Hollow. Mold-made in a single-sided mold, likely plaster. Thick, plain back with partial circular venthole near mid body. Visible yet tidy join seams; carefully cleaned interior. Significant amount of surface detailing done through incision. Pinkish brown clay with some grog inclusions. Commentary Although our figurine is incomplete, similar examples elsewhere (H 2309 at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, for example) allow us to reconstruct the bottom: the boy would have stood with a slight contrapposto, the long tunic covering his legs down to his feet. The young boy depicted here is Harpocrates, a Greco-Roman adaptation of the Egyptian child god Horus. His form is the result of the combination of several traditions; the elaborate headdress, for instance, combines the royal emblems of Egyptian kings (the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt) and of Hellenistic rulers (the diadem). The god’s posture, likewise, is an amalgam; the finger raised to the mouth is an Egyptian convention for the representation of children, while the counterbalanced stance is more typical of Greek art. Related Works 2012.1.49 Harpocrates 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
