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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1994.167
Title
Head of Apollo
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, head
Date
2nd-3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/301888

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze (lead-filled in antiquity)
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 76.57; Sn, 6.56; Pb, 16.69; Zn, 0.04; Fe, 0.01; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.06; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is brown with green and reddish corrosion products overlaying it in areas. The surface appears smooth and well preserved, although some of the modeling seems flattened—for instance, the figure’s front curls and chin, as well as a small area above the edge on the proper left side of the neck—and the nose seems to have been pushed in, perhaps as the result of a casting flaw. There is a recess in the place of a now-missing rectangular patch on the front of the figure’s neck, and a break in the metal adjacent to another patch in the neck has widened.

The head is a hollow cast with relatively thick walls (ranging from c. 3.5 to 5 mm at neck). It is partly filled with lead, and the opening to the neck is also obscured by resinous and waxy materials. For the most part, the details on the outer surface seem to have been modeled in the wax, especially the wavy curls, which are undercut. The pupils may have been enhanced in the metal with a small rounded punch.

It is not clear whether the head was broken off a larger bust or statuette, or if it had been attached to a separately cast body. The edge of the neck is uneven: in one area it looks cut, in another it looks rounded as if it had been cast unfinished. There are several rectangular patches along the neck: two above the rim and one that seems to have been broken through at the rim. The area once hidden by the missing patch reveals what appears to be a pin. The remains of a small separately cast loop are set into the top of the head. It is not clear when this was added, but it appears to be old based on the corrosion material around it.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
From the collection of Max Falk, who purchased it in the late 1960s from Albrecht Neuhaus, Wurzburg.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Max Falk in honor of Lucy Canavan
Accession Year
1994
Object Number
1994.167
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This head of Apollo may have been part of a large statuette or a bust weight. The god’s curly hair is styled into a top knot at the front and a bun at the back of his head (1). The hair around his temples is modeled in high relief and shows signs of wear. Behind the top knot are the remains of what may be an attachment, possibly a loop or a hook. The facial features are very fine, and Apollo’s expression seems grave. The head is broken at the neck, and the interior of the hollow cast is filled with lead and resinous materials, which would support its possible use as a bust weight (2).

NOTES:

1. See Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Apollon nos. 64, 72, 75, 79, 302.g, and 516 for similar hairstyles.

2. For two examples of Apollo-shaped bust weights, see N. Franken, Aequipondia: Figürliche Laufgewichte römischer und frühbyzantinischer Schnellwaagen (Bonn, 1994) 34 and 121, nos. A1-A3, pl. 1.

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, Harvard Art Museum and Yale University Press (Cambridge, MA, 2014), p. 52

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

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