1952–April 1953

G. H. McFadden.

9th May, 1952Mrs. Margarete Bieber, 605 W. 113th street, Apt. 33, New York 25, N.Y.

Dear Mrs. Bieber:-

Your port card just reached me yesterday on my return from Gordion in Turkey where I have been excavating with Rodney Young. I'm enclosing herewith some photos of sculpture both in marble and bronze and one in stone. Some of these have appeared in the April 5th issue of the Illustrated London News with impossible captions such as "Hellenistic work of Trajan day". I should have thought their staff would have been capable of avoiding such slips as this and other ones on the same page. They prefer too to have the youth casting a ball in marble instead of in stone as it in fact is. This piece of sculpture is not of outstanding workmanship but it is interesting as it was found in a nich in a wall in the portico of a court belonging to what we believe to have been a palaestra. The palaestra is to be dated to the second century A.D. and it is probable that the statue is at least as late as the palaestra. Now we have another representation of a youth casting a stone in a terracotta figurine of a mounted game can hardly have been the same, the one being almost nude and the other mounted and in full armour. Furthermore it is likely that the one in the niche is represented as warrior. If both are participating in a ball game, the participating in a game that was played in the court. Another question arises, is the statue of Apollo or simply of an anonymous youth in archaizing coiffeur? The other two heads, also illustrated in I.L.N., are in white marble. Figure I looks Hellenistic to me but it was found in debris in the same room of the palaestra with fig. 3 which looks Roman. I realize it is impossible often to formulate an opinion from a mere photo but I'd be interested in your impression of these two. I am sending you also photos of a bronze deer and a bronze mouse and would be interested in your impression of these two. I'd like to have the mouse in the early 5th century. I am hoping to be home toward the end of July and am looking forward to seeing you sometime during the Summer.

Very sincerely yours,

gHMcF/cp