Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

This fine-grained, Attic Pentelic marble head is complete, save for the tip of its nose and chin. The marble is worn, especially on the left cheek, chin, right brow and the right side of the head. Despite this wear, the extremely high quality of the carving is apparent, especially in the graceful curves of the forehead, eyes and cheeks, and the delicate treatment of the lips and remaining left ear. The head is broken off at the neck, where it was attached to the body of a statue, which may have been from a pediment group or a stele.

The head of a young woman is carved in the round, and is just under life size. The face is almost a perfect oval, especially noticeable in the breadth at the level of the temples and the jaw; the impression of gentle weight is further accentuated by the rounded, soft chin, and smooth brow. Her mouth is small with full lips, which are parted slightly. Her almond-shaped eyes are deep-set with upper eyelids which are separated from the brows by a groove and which project slightly over the lower eyelids at the outer corner of the eyes. Waldstein notes that this projection of the upper lid over the lower lid is an innovation of late 5^th century sculpture and becomes more defined in heads of the 4^th century and later. The woman has wavy hair pulled back in a chignon: it is parted in the center and swept back from her temples revealing her ears. Her hair is bound by two fillets: one running just above the hairline, and another over the top of the head to the back of her neck. Nash records Ridgway’s observation that, because of slight asymmetries on the right side of the face, it is possible that the head was turned slightly towards its right side and was meant to be viewed from the left. Her expression, typical of the 5^th century, is lofty and idealized; her face betrays no emotion.

Since few, if any, mortal women were afforded such sculptural commemoration in this period, it is likely that our head is that of a goddess. But which goddess does she represent? Because her head has been broken off at the neck, leaving no clear characteristics, either in her pose, the treatment of her body and drapery, or any attributes (Persephone’s pomegranate, Artemis’ quiver, etc.), a firm identification is difficult, if not impossible. However, her face does give us some clues as to who she is: Her youthful features, her full lips and rounded chin, point to the goddesses who are most often depicted in their youth: Aphrodite, Persephone or Artemis. However, without additional information, the identity of our goddess will remain obscure.

Bieber places this head within the circle of sculptures attributed to Alkamenes, the great sculptor Phidias’ contemporary and pupil. Alkamenes was an Athenian sculptor who worked in the late 5^th century, and he is cited in ancient authors as the sculptor of statues in Athens: a triple Hecate, aseated Dionysos, a Hephaistos, and the Aphrodite in the Gardens. Alkamenes is also probably the sculptor of the famous caryatids which hold up the porch of the Erechtheion in Athens. Bieber’s attribution is strengthened by the comparison of our head with these caryatids, which share our goddess’rounded face, especially around the temples and the jaw.

Stylistically, our goddess also bears some resemblance to the head of Theseus attributed to Pheidias and his studio (of which Alkamenes was a student), in the brow and rounded jaw, although the surface of this statue makes it hard to ascertain the original treatment of his features. Likewise, in the rounded jaw and wide, deep set eyes, our goddess is similar to the head of Dionysos on the eastern pediment of the Parthenon, which also is

said to be the work of Pheidias. These similarities between our head and the caryatids, as well as the works of Pheidias, support Bieber’s attribution, indicating that our goddess may be from the hand of Alkamenes.

Published in

DUNBAR A.G. New Acquisitions for the Albright Art Gallery in Buffalo Artist’s Register, 1926, p. 55.

Buffalo Arts Journal, March 1926, p. 13.

Academy Notes. Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, September 1931, p. 31, illus.

BIEBER M., Greek Sculpture in The Cleveland Museum of Art in Art in America, XXXI, July 1943, p. 120.

RITCHIE A. C., Albright Art Gallery. Catalogue of the Paintings and Sculptures in the Permanent Collection, Buffalo, 1949, p. 213, no. 238.

NASH S. A. ed., Albright-Knox Gallery: Painting and Sculpture from Antiquity to 1942, New York, 1979, pp. 56-57.

VERMEULE C. C., Greek and Roman Sculpture in America, Malibu, 1981, p. 54, n. 27.

Bibliography

BIEBER M., Greek Sculpture in The Cleveland Museum of Art in Art in America, XXXI, July 1943, p. 120.

BOARDMAN J., Greek Sculpture of the Classical Period, London, 1985, fi g. 125.

NASH S. A. (ed), Albright-Knox Gallery: Painting and Sculpture from Antiquity to 1942, New York, 1979, pp. 56-57.

RICHTER GISELA The Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks, New Haven, 1929.

VERMEULE C. C., Greek and Roman Sculpture in America, Malibu 1981, p. 54, no. 27.

WALDSTEIN C., A head of Aphrodite, Probably from the Eastern Pediment of the Parthenon at Holkham Hall, in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, XXXIII, 1913, pp. 276-

295 (p. 285-286, fi g. 11 et 14).

On the Aphrodite of the Gardens:

BATES W., Archaeological News, in The American Journal of Archaeology 19, 1915, pp. 341-366.

Pausanias, 1.19.2

Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 36.16.