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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1984.818
Title
Palladion (Early Image of Armored Goddess: Athena?)
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
6th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Thessaly
Period
Archaic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304154

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
8.6 cm (3 3/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 91.61; Sn, 5.65; Pb, 2.43; Zn, 0.009; Fe, 0.04; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.02; Sb, less than 0.05; As, 0.19; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.021; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is green with reddish-brown areas. There are abrasions on the torso and back of the legs from modern cleaning.

The solid statuette was cast in one piece with the plinth; pits on the plinth and the figure itself indicate a porous casting. The remains of a separately made spear are visible in the circular hole in the figure’s right hand.


Tracy Richardson (submitted 1999)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Jerome B. Spier in honor of Professor George M.A. Hanfmann
Accession Year
1984
Object Number
1984.818
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 small figure is an important addition to the group of early bronze representations of the Palladion, the sculptural form of the armored Athena. The Harvard piece consists of a vertical, almost plank-like body that rises from a square base; there is a slight bulge on the back, indicating the buttocks. Feet are not shown. The shape of the body does not change from the neck to the base, which suggests that this figure is wearing a peplos or peplos-like garment. Two short sleeves project laterally from the body at the level of the shoulders. The statuette appears to have a very slightly incised diagonal fold or belt looping over its left shoulder. The right arm extends sideways and is bent upward at the elbow, terminating in a flattened fist. The left arm, also extended laterally from the shoulder, is broken off at the wrist, where originally there would probably have been a shield. She wears an open-faced helmet of the Illyrian type (compare 1972.55), with cheek-pieces covering her cheeks and extending down the sides of her chin. A crest rises above the helmet and extends backward beyond the edge of the helmet. Her facial features are roughly rendered, with the lower edge of the brow and eyes slightly in relief and a projecting nose.

This rudimentary but charming Palladion is said to come from Thessaly. It resembles other larger and more detailed examples from Olympia and in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (1). Perhaps the best-known representations of the Palladion appear on Athenian black- and red-figured vases depicting the sack of Troy, where Cassandra has fled to the protection of the goddess Athena, who is shown in this form (2). The Palladion also appears as a miniature statue in rudimentary form being stolen by the Greek hero Diomedes (3).

If the alleged provenance of this Palladion is trustworthy, we might think of it as a small votive offering to the goddess’s powerful Thessalian form, Athena Itonia. While such rudimentary figures are difficult to date, one might propose a date for this figure near the middle of the sixth century BCE.

NOTES:

1. Olympia Museum, inv. no. B 4500, and Walters Art Museum, inv. no. 54.780, from Sparta; see B. Cohen, “The Early Greek Palladion: Two Bronze Statuettes in America,” Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 55/56 (1997-1998): 11-26.

2. Compare Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Kassandra I nos. 111-20.

3. Compare LIMC Diomedes I nos. 23-105.


David G. Mitten

Publication History

  • Beth Cohen, "The Early Greek Palladion: Two Bronze Statuettes", The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery (1997-1998), Vol. 55/56, 11-25, figs. 4-6.

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/02/2022

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