Apollo of Piombino
Right Side
2015-00-00
Name/Title
Apollo of PiombinoEntry/Object ID
75G0404Description
Standing figure of Apollo facing front, right arm bent at elbow with open hand extending forwards, and left arm bent at elbow with hand closed in a fist. His stance is Archaic with his left foot forward and the weight being equally distributed on both feet. The hair style is quite developed in more Greek style, but the facial features, while more natural, still have Archaic undertones placing the original of this statue in the Transitional Period of Greek art. Plaster copy of bronze original.Type of Sculpture
Free StandingArtwork Details
Medium
BronzeSubject Person
ApolloContext
This kouros-style statue was recovered from the sea near Piombino, Italy (ancient Populonia) by two fisherman in 1832. The original statue has a dedicatory inscription inlaid in silver on the left foot (missing from the Museum's replica) that reads “ΑΘΑΝΑΙΑ ΔΕΚΑΤΑΝ,” dedicating this statue of Apollo to the goddess Athena, or more specifically to Athana (Athena) Lindia, who had a sanctuary at Rhodes. Within the statue was a lead tablet inscribed with the names of two artists, Menodotos of Tyre and Xenophon of Rhodes. Menodotos belonged to a famous workshop in Rhodes founded by his father who had immigrated there from Tyre. Menodotos was active from around 129 to 100 BCE. There has been some controversary surrounding the authenticity of the statue after a convincing article written Brunilde Ridgway in 1967 touted it as a Roman forgery. More recent scholarship disputes this claim in favour of a late Hellenistic Rhodian workshop creating a kouros statue in an Archaizing style. Given its find location along the coast of Italy, it is possible that this kouros was one of a number of copies created for upper class Roman customers. While the statue exudes the transitional Archaic-Classical style of the late 6th century BCE, scholars argue that this statue fits within the Eastern Archaizing tradition of the late Hellenistic period. The statue strongly exudes the features of an Archaic kouros statue given its almond-shaped eyes, rigid posture, and left foot forward stance. Yet, some features indicate the late Archaic transition to the Classical style with its more relaxed hairstyle, the increased naturalism in the bodily form, the loss of the 'Archaic smile', and the gestures of the hands that almost invite the viewer in.Collection
Archaic GreeceMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Menodotos of TyreRole
SculptorArtist
Xenophon of RhodesRole
SculptorDate made
125 BCE - 100 BCETime Period
HellenisticPlace
City
RhodesCountry
GreeceEthnography
Cultural Region
City
RhodesCountry
GreeceCulture/Tribe
Greek - Archaic