Man or Actor Riding a Donkey
1st century BCE-1st century CE
Description
Almost complete figurine, repaired, with extensive wear on the surface. A man, at least partly nude, riding a donkey side saddled. Bald with pointed, egg-shaped head and protruding ears (right ear missing); likely an actor or slave type. Detailed face with small, sunken eyes, a large, pointy nose, slightly parted lips, small, rounded chin, and a thick neck. Body with odd proportions; small and narrow at the upper chest, but with larger, bulging belly. Something sits in between the spread legs, likely a prosthetic phallus. The man leans with his left arm upon the neck of the donkey. His right arm falls to his side and holds something bulbous, a bag perhaps. The donkey stands in profile, facing right. A long, horse-like face with long ears that arch up and back. It stands on a tall, uneven base. Covered in green lead-glaze. Hollow with open bottom. Mold-made in a single bivalve mold. Proper right side of the donkey intended as main view. Back is minimally modeled, with some indication of form down to the donkey’s trunk; plain below.
Dimensions
15 × 8.4 cm (5 7/8 × 3 5/16 in.)
Provenance
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.
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