Bust of the Spada ‘Aristotle’
- Title:
- Bust of the Spada ‘Aristotle’
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
ca. 1st c. BCE to 1st c. CE
- Site:
- Unknown (original)
- Location:
- Goldwin Smith Hall (Room G44), Cornell University
Unknown (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0609
- Accession Number:
- Sage no. 239
74 (sticker on front, incomplete)
239 (> Sage) in pencil on back
621 - File Name:
- CCC_0609.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 128 (H) cm (complete statue)
- Culture:
- Roman
- Style/Period:
- Late Republican or Early Imperial Roman
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
portrait bust - Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
marble sculpture in the round (original) - Subject:
- Portrait sculpture, Roman
Aristippus, 435 B.C.?-356 B.C.?
Aristotle - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 62 x 34.5 x 24 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a cast of the head associated with the so-called Spada Aristotle in bust form. The body of the original statue (see ID no. 128), Hellenistic in date, has been fitted with a late Republican or early Imperial Roman portrait head in veristic style that does not belong with the body. The original identification of the figure as Aristotle and the later identification as Aristippos have been based on the partially preserved Greek inscription on the statue's base that reads "ARIST". The orientation of the head on this bust has been altered from its orientation on the original, where it is lowered. Here, the figure looks upward to the viewer's right. His short, wavy hair is arranged in a Julius Caesar-like style. His brow is deeply furrowed, his cheeks, jowls, and mouth sag to indicate the advancing age, and therefore wisdom, of the individual represented.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
- Bibliography:
- Gisela Richter, The Portraits of the Greeks, vol. II (London: Phaidon Press, 1965), 175-176, fig. 1018
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Rome, Palazzo Spada (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.