Slave or actor with yoke
1st-3rd century CE
Description
Almost complete figurine in good condition. A slave or comic actor, standing, dressed, and burdened with a yoke. Bald, rounded head cocked slightly to the right. Deeply wrinkled forehead; narrow, wavy eyebrows; large, almond-shaped eyes with narrow lids rendered in relief. Somewhat large nose, now worn; closed mouth; rounded chin. Prominent, stylized ears. Overall expression seems happy or smiling. He wears a short tunic with short sleeves under a paenula (a cloak that is similar to a poncho). The paenula’s large V-neck takes up most of the figure’s torso; stiff, plastic folds at front, somewhat looser at back. Right arm and hand are visible, if modeled a bit crudely, placed across the chest and holding a staff. The left hand seems to be grasping the yoke from behind and is mostly obscured by the paenula. The thinness of the visible arm suggests emaciation. The bare legs, set apart with knees slightly bent, are overly thick by comparison. The pose allows for a rounded protrusion to peek out from under the short tunic; a missing attachment could be a prosthetic phallus. Bare feet, with incised toes. The man carries a yoke behind his neck, one woven basket hanging from a thick rope at each side. The baskets are cylindrical, with vertical weaving along the body and two horizontal bands at both top and bottom. The man stands on a rectangular base with simple molding at sides and front, and a plain back. Would have been painted originally. Traces of thick white ground extant, especially at front. The figure is hollow, and made in a single bivalve mold, plaster. Significant modeling at back. Join seams are sharp and visible, but tidy. No venthole. The base was made separately; solid, with a slightly concave bottom. Partial fingerprint at the bottom edge of the base. The figurine stands on its own for the most part, but it is slightly unstable. The linear treatment of features and incised detailing, like that of the weave of the baskets and ropes, suggest a later Imperial date. Reddish-brown clay, hard-fired.
Dimensions
12.8 × 8 cm (5 1/16 × 3 1/8 in.)
Provenance
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.
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