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Colossal seated statue, probably of a Muse
Roman
Imperial Period
late 1st century B.C. – 1st century A.D.
Findspot: Italy, Amiternum
Medium/Technique
Marble, from Carrara in northwest Italy
Dimensions
Overall: 188 x 104 x 124cm (74 x 40 15/16 x 48 13/16in.)
Block (wooden timber base (8 5/8 x 7 3/4 )): 51.4 x 135.9 x 145.7 cm (20 1/4 x 53 1/2 x 57 3/8 in.)
Block (Object sits on a concrete on top of wooden base): 126.4 x 86.4 x 62.9 cm (49 3/4 x 34 x 24 3/4 in.)
Block (wooden timber base (8 5/8 x 7 3/4 )): 51.4 x 135.9 x 145.7 cm (20 1/4 x 53 1/2 x 57 3/8 in.)
Block (Object sits on a concrete on top of wooden base): 126.4 x 86.4 x 62.9 cm (49 3/4 x 34 x 24 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number99.340
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Cybele, the great mother of the gods, also known as Magna Mater, is represented in her customary seated pose in this colossal statue. Probably once enthroned in an elevated position within an Imperial-period temple, the work is said to have been found at Amiternum, in the mountains of central Italy. Worship of Cybele, a goddess of Phrygian origin long venerated throughout Asia Minor, was imported into Italy around 204 B.C. in deference to a prophecy that only her divine protection could save Rome from the invading Carthaginians. Although the city was spared from destruction, the cult, which included ecstatic rites and strange practices (the castration of priests, for example), remained controversial among the Romans for many years. It eventually gained lasting popularity, since Cybele was a chaste goddess, a protector of cities, and a bringer of good fortune.
Assembled from several marble blocks, this statue was executed at the highest level of quality. The goddess-perched on a stool, armless throne, or altar that is partly preserved on her left side-probably once held a tambourine, the instrument connected with the frenzied music of her worship. A rich cascade of drapery flows across Cybele's body, the emphatic folds of the fabric creating visual interest, while the semitransparent quality subtly reveals her anatomy-especially her belly, breasts, and knees. Although several other statues, most representing the goddess Fortuna, share this seated pose and distinct treatment of drapery, none is as commanding as this work, whose strikingly elongated proportions were probably intended to accommodate the viewer's perspective from below. Stylistic affinities with figures sculpted in relief on monuments of the Antonine period suggest a date in the second century A.D.
Assembled from several marble blocks, this statue was executed at the highest level of quality. The goddess-perched on a stool, armless throne, or altar that is partly preserved on her left side-probably once held a tambourine, the instrument connected with the frenzied music of her worship. A rich cascade of drapery flows across Cybele's body, the emphatic folds of the fabric creating visual interest, while the semitransparent quality subtly reveals her anatomy-especially her belly, breasts, and knees. Although several other statues, most representing the goddess Fortuna, share this seated pose and distinct treatment of drapery, none is as commanding as this work, whose strikingly elongated proportions were probably intended to accommodate the viewer's perspective from below. Stylistic affinities with figures sculpted in relief on monuments of the Antonine period suggest a date in the second century A.D.
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 092; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 109 (additional published references); Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 041.
DescriptionColossal female figure, probably a muse, seated on throne with left foot on plinth in front and right foot drawn back. Her left shoulder was raised and her arm leaned on the edge of a rounded object or setting (now missing, but once attached with a square dowel hole). Her right arm once leaned on her thigh and held some attribute, now only attested by some raised parts on the inner right thigh. She wears a high-belted chiton and a himation wrapping over her left shoulder and swinging back over her thigh with the end trailing between her knees.
The head and neck, once inserted, are missing along with most of the right arm, the left shoulder and wrist, the right foot, the forepart of the left foot, the lower left side at the back (once attached to two square dowel holes), and the seat. Also missing is a wedge-shaped piece between the knees, which once repaired some broken drapery. The surface is worn and stained with a yellow to orange all over except in the back below the seat.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI232: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.11 / delta18O -1.83
Harvard Lab No. HI776: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.44 / delta18O -2.36
Attribution - Carrara, Justification - Fine grained marble.
The head and neck, once inserted, are missing along with most of the right arm, the left shoulder and wrist, the right foot, the forepart of the left foot, the lower left side at the back (once attached to two square dowel holes), and the seat. Also missing is a wedge-shaped piece between the knees, which once repaired some broken drapery. The surface is worn and stained with a yellow to orange all over except in the back below the seat.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI232: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.11 / delta18O -1.83
Harvard Lab No. HI776: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.44 / delta18O -2.36
Attribution - Carrara, Justification - Fine grained marble.
ProvenanceBefore 1809, at Amiternum (near present-day L’Aquila, Italy) [see note 1]. By 1840, in the courtyard of a house at San Vittorino [note 2]. By 1898, acquired at Castellammare Adriatico by John Marshall (b. 1860- d. 1928) for Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 – d. 1928), London; 1899, sold by Edward Perry Warren to MFA for $32,500.00 [see note 4]. (Accession date: December 24, 1899)
Notes
[1] In 1809, the colossal statue was seen in situ by Giuseppe Simelli (b. 1777- d. 1842). It was said to be located between the river Aterno and the Roman amphitheater at Amiternum: “Presso il fiume Aterno e stata cavata una statua colossal di donna sedente, marmo statuario, di bellissimo panneggiamento: manca della testa anche fin dalla prima origine si vede riportata, manca della spalla e del braccio sinistro, della meta del braccio destro e della punta dei piedi sporgenti in fuori del panneggiamento. La scultura e il disegno sono bellissimi…” (G. Simelli, Antichita Pelasgiche (Ms. In Biblioteca dell’istituto Nazionale di Storia dell’Arte), Rome, f. 17). It is unclear how the statue came to be excavated. It is sometimes thought to have been excavated by Sabatino del Muto in 1834. However, the statue is not listed among the 1834 discoveries (communication from I. Trafficante). For information on the 1834 excavations at Amiternum see S. Segenni, Amiternum e il suo territorio in eta romana (1985), 136-41; S. Segenni, Studi Classici e Orientali 52 (2006): 245-47.
[2] By 1840 it was stored in a courtyard of a house in San Vittorino, where it was described during a site inspection of the excavation’s finding by Prof. Angelo Solari (b. 1775- d. 1846), “...una statua colossale di donna, la quale alzandosi in piedi sarebbe di circa palmi 14: la medesima e mancante della testa, dei piedi, d’ambo le braccia, e porzioni della parte di dietro dal lato destro… quantunque sia cosi mutilata, pure avendola attentamente osservata, la trovo di un’ottima scultura greco-romana, la quale potrebbe rappresentare una Roma o Vesta…” (Archivio Soprintendenza di Napoli, XIX, B. 5, 3.45). A statue is described in 1838 report, but it is unclear whether it is the same. An export permit for the removal of this statue from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies may have been available by 1843. However, letters dating between 1841-44 do not make clear for which statue the permit was granted, since there seems to have been two colossal statues of seated women found at Amiternum (See A. Milanese, In partenza dal regno. Esportazioni e commercio d’arte e d’antichita a Napoli nella prima meta dell’Ottocento (Florence, 2014), pp. 126-28).
[4] This is the total price for MFA 99.338-99.542.
Notes
[1] In 1809, the colossal statue was seen in situ by Giuseppe Simelli (b. 1777- d. 1842). It was said to be located between the river Aterno and the Roman amphitheater at Amiternum: “Presso il fiume Aterno e stata cavata una statua colossal di donna sedente, marmo statuario, di bellissimo panneggiamento: manca della testa anche fin dalla prima origine si vede riportata, manca della spalla e del braccio sinistro, della meta del braccio destro e della punta dei piedi sporgenti in fuori del panneggiamento. La scultura e il disegno sono bellissimi…” (G. Simelli, Antichita Pelasgiche (Ms. In Biblioteca dell’istituto Nazionale di Storia dell’Arte), Rome, f. 17). It is unclear how the statue came to be excavated. It is sometimes thought to have been excavated by Sabatino del Muto in 1834. However, the statue is not listed among the 1834 discoveries (communication from I. Trafficante). For information on the 1834 excavations at Amiternum see S. Segenni, Amiternum e il suo territorio in eta romana (1985), 136-41; S. Segenni, Studi Classici e Orientali 52 (2006): 245-47.
[2] By 1840 it was stored in a courtyard of a house in San Vittorino, where it was described during a site inspection of the excavation’s finding by Prof. Angelo Solari (b. 1775- d. 1846), “...una statua colossale di donna, la quale alzandosi in piedi sarebbe di circa palmi 14: la medesima e mancante della testa, dei piedi, d’ambo le braccia, e porzioni della parte di dietro dal lato destro… quantunque sia cosi mutilata, pure avendola attentamente osservata, la trovo di un’ottima scultura greco-romana, la quale potrebbe rappresentare una Roma o Vesta…” (Archivio Soprintendenza di Napoli, XIX, B. 5, 3.45). A statue is described in 1838 report, but it is unclear whether it is the same. An export permit for the removal of this statue from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies may have been available by 1843. However, letters dating between 1841-44 do not make clear for which statue the permit was granted, since there seems to have been two colossal statues of seated women found at Amiternum (See A. Milanese, In partenza dal regno. Esportazioni e commercio d’arte e d’antichita a Napoli nella prima meta dell’Ottocento (Florence, 2014), pp. 126-28).
[4] This is the total price for MFA 99.338-99.542.