Portrait of the Greek Orator Demosthenes
1st century BCE-2nd century CE
Description
This remarkable statuette is a small-scale copy of a lost life-size bronze statue that honored the Athenian orator and statesman Demosthenes. It illustrates a trend toward realism in Greek portraiture of the third century BCE and offers a posthumous psychological interpretation of the eloquent but ill-fated champion of Athenian liberty against Macedonian dominance.
Dimensions
h. 23.2 cm x w. 8 cm x d. 7 cm (9 1/8 x 3 1/8 x 2 3/4 in.)
Provenance
Dr. Jacob Hirsch, Geneva, (by 1935), sold; to the Herbert N. Straus family, New York City, (by 1939). John W. Straus, (by 1997), gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2007.
Related Artworks
View MoreWalnut? overlaid with gesso
16th centuryItalian?Bronze
3rd millennium BCEAnatolianPlaster
19th centuryItalianWood box containing various archival materials
21st centuryPortugueseTranslucent white glass
18th centuryBritishTerracotta
Etruscan
Bronze
20th centuryGermanMarble
17th-18th centuryItalianMarble, seemingly from western Asia Minor
2nd century CERomanMarble from Western Asia Minor
2nd century CERomanLeaded bronze
7th-1st century BCEEgyptian