Limestone statue of a bearded man with votive offerings - image 1

Classical

Limestone statue of a bearded man with votive offerings

After the absorption of Cyprus into the Persian Empire in 526/5 B.C. contacts increased with the wealthy East Greek cities on the western coast of Asia Minor, which had also fallen under Persian rule. The influence of Greek sculptural style can by seen in this statue of a man dedicated in a temple at Golgoi. He wears typical East Greek dress, a finely pleated linen chiton, and a woolen himation (cloak), and stands with left foot advanced in a pose that gives a subtle sense of movement. His smile and the jewel-like precision with which his hair and beard are carved remind one of Greek Archaic art of the sixth century B.C., but the style appears stiff and somewhat artificial in this statue, which was carved in the second quarter of the fifth century. Like many Cypriot votive statues this figure wears a wreath of leaves and flowers. It is composed of oak leaves and stylized narcissus flowers, which must have evoked ideas of fertility and regeneration. The man holds gifts for the deity—a dove in his left hand and a cylindrical object, which probably represented a container of incense, in his right hand. 64 3/4 × 22 1/2 × 14 1/2 in., 452 lb. (164.5 × 57.2 × 36.8 cm, 205 kg)

Date

499 - 400 BC

Accession No.

74.51.2461

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

  • Sanctuary of Golgoi-Ayios Photios

References

  • Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. no. 80, p. 24, pl. IV.9, St. Petersburg: L’Académie Impérial des Sciences.Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1877. Cyprus: Its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples. A Narrative of Researches and Excavations During Ten Years' Residence in That Island. fig. 149, London: John Murray.Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1885. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 1. pl. LVIII.453, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1407, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 336, p. 209, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Hermary, Antoine. 2005. "Les derniers temps du royaume d'Idalion et son annexion par Kition." Cahier du Centre d' Études Chypriotes, 35. p. 118, fig. 5.Stylianou, Andreas and Patrick Schollmeyer. 2007. "Der Sarkophag aus Golgoi." Dynastensarkophage mit szenischen Reliefs aus Byblos und Zypern: Der Sarkophag aus Amathous als Beispiel kontaktinduzierten Wandels, 2. p. 221 n. 229, pl. 56c, Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern.Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 85, pp. 44, 92, Myres 1407, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Scherrer, Peter, Gabriele Koiner, and Anja Ulbrich. 2013. Hellenistisches Zypern [Hellenistic Cyprus. Proceedings of the International Conference, Department of Archaeology, University of Graz, 14 October 2010] pp. 92-3, fig. 2, Graz: Unipress graz.Sørensen, Lone Wriedt. 2017. "True to type? Archaic Cypriot male statues made of limestone." Proceedings of the Danish Institute at Athens, VIII. pp. 64, 69, 76, fig. 6, Denmark: Aarhus University Press.