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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1926.21.15
Title
Seated Pan
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
3rd century BCE or later
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/291964

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
19 × 10.5 × 11.5 cm (7 1/2 × 4 1/8 × 4 1/2 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Percy S. Straus
Accession Year
1926
Object Number
1926.21.15
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Mostly complete figurine with a few cracks and modern repairs.

Sitting, semi-nude satyr, perhaps the god Pan. Large, oval head cocked to the right, but looking forward. Bald with a singular tuft of hair at the top. The ears are now missing. Two horns, incomplete, rise from the forehead and seem to point back. Ears are missing. Furrowed brows over deep-set eyes; round nose; distinct cheeks, and a smiling, open mouth with full, sensuous lips. He sports a mustache and a long, squared beard. Expression is jovial.

Body is less detailed. The figure sits on a bulbous mound, with his right arm bent at the elbow and resting on upper right thigh, and the left arm falling straight down his side and resting on the mound. Body is mostly nude, and vague enough to appear human; the only indications of an animal nature are the bare feet, which are cleft in two, as if hooves, and a short, pointed tail that curves up at the back. A somewhat flimsy mantle is draped over the left thigh, and falls between the spread legs, coyly covering his groin.

Would have been painted originally. No white ground extant, but a significant amount of pigment remains. The mantle was painted a bright red, and the mound seems to have been black.

Heavy with a solid feel but should be hollow. Mold-made in several bivalve molds. Carefully attached to a narrow, flat, plain base.

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