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Youth
Greek
Late Classical Period
about 375–325 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Marble from Mount Pentelikon near Athens
Dimensions
Overall: 73.5 x 13 cm (28 15/16 x 5 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number04.283
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
The relaxed, curvilinear pose, the elongated proportions, and the supple anatomy of this youth show the influence of the famed fourth-century-B.C. Athenian sculptor Praxiteles. The statue may have been part of a funerary monument, placed over a tomb and facing out towards the street; alternately, it may have commemorated an athletic victory or served as a votive dedication in a sanctuary.
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund, 1904 04.283
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund, 1904 04.283
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 059; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 108 (additional published references).
DescriptionThe under life-size young male stands with his weight supported by his left leg and turns his head and gaze towards his right. His left hip is raised above his right hip and his right shoulder is slightly raised above his left shoulder. The left arm is bent slightly at the elbow and hangs by his side while the right arm is raised away from the body. His lips are parted. Short delineated locks frame his face, but rest of his hair is left unworked. Toned, trim body with a broad chest and slight muscular definition around the pectorals.
Condition: The head, torso, portions of the upper legs, half of upper right arm, and most of the left arm is preserved. Tips of the nose and earlobes slightly chipped. Clean break across lower left arm and irregular breaks elsewhere with cracks running across the chest and left arm. Tooth chisel marks on parts of the surface. Blue veining on white marble that is partly covered in a light brown patina.
Scientific Analysis:
University of South Florida Lab No. 8406, 8856: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.3 (fresh marble), 2.2 (surface) / delta18O -4.8 (fresh marble), 2.2 (surface)
Attribution - Mt. Pentelikon. Justification - C and O isotopes, fine grain, Attic style
Condition: The head, torso, portions of the upper legs, half of upper right arm, and most of the left arm is preserved. Tips of the nose and earlobes slightly chipped. Clean break across lower left arm and irregular breaks elsewhere with cracks running across the chest and left arm. Tooth chisel marks on parts of the surface. Blue veining on white marble that is partly covered in a light brown patina.
Scientific Analysis:
University of South Florida Lab No. 8406, 8856: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.3 (fresh marble), 2.2 (surface) / delta18O -4.8 (fresh marble), 2.2 (surface)
Attribution - Mt. Pentelikon. Justification - C and O isotopes, fine grain, Attic style
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Caskey, Catalogue of Sculpture, no. 41: from Athens); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, June 19, 1904