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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.56
Title
Standing actor
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
2nd-3rd century CE
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/291853

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
15 × 5.5 × 3.9 cm (5 7/8 × 2 3/16 × 1 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.56
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Almost complete figurine with some repairs. Signs of burning at bottom.

A standing actor, fully dressed. He wears a mask with a wreath, short, curly hair, and fully open mouth. Dionysiac? A long, straight tunic obscures the body, while a heavy mantle draped around the shoulders and back provides a dramatic frame. The right arm is bent at the elbow and brought up to the mouth; left arm, now missing, likely projected forward. He stands on a hight plinth or platform. Modeling is stiff, yet pose, as if speaking, is dynamic nonetheless.

Would have been painted originally. Significant traces of white ground extant.

Hollow with open bottom; heavy. Mold-made in a bivalve mold, likely plaster. Arms cast separately and later attached. Linear treatment of features, incised detailing, and general frontality, suggest a later Imperial date.

Light red-orange clay, micaceous; perhaps western Anatolian.
Commentary
The actors of Roman antiquity were both vilified and idolized: on the one hand, they were legally disenfranchised; on the other, they won the love of their public with their expressive performances. This terracotta figurine, and others like it, would have reminded its owner of the visual splendor of the theater, its originally painted surface brightly complementing the subject. Its small size and warm material would have further inspired handling. What sort of effects could have holding the miniature version of these ambivalent characters had on past theater afficionados?

Related Works

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