Bust of Homer
- Title:
- Bust of Homer
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
1st c. CE (Roman copy)
1st half of the 2nd c. BCE (Hellenistic original)
- Site:
- Esquiline Hill, Rome, Italy (discovery site) (original)
- Location:
- Goldwin Smith Hall (Room 354), Cornell University
previously, Goldwin Smith Hall (Room 161)
Esquiline Hill, Rome, Italy (discovery site) (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0759
- Accession Number:
- 715
- File Name:
- CCC_0759.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 53 (H) cm
- Culture:
- Roman, after Hellenistic
- Style/Period:
- Roman Imperial, after Hellenistic Pergamene Baroque
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
busts (sculpture) - Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
marble sculpture in the round (original) - Subject:
- Homer
- Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 66.5 x 41 x 28 x 29.5 (plinth) x 15 (pedestal) (centimeters, height x width x diameter x height x height)
- Description:
- This is a cast of a portrait bust of homer of the Hellenistic, Blind Type housed in the Louvre. The type is known from more than twenty examples. Homer's face is long and narrow. His beard is full and his hair is longish with thick curls falling over his ears and a thin taenia banding it tightly. Old age is indicated by the generously receded hairline, the sagging, hollow cheeks, and dramatic wrinkles, particularly at the forehead and brow. Blindness is suggested by the appearance of the eyes, which are small with very heavy lids. He seems to look straight ahead. Since Homer lived in the 8th c. BCE, his true appearance could not have been known. His portraits are, then, necessarily imaginary. Restorations to the nose and hair have been removed from the original but are reflected in this cast. Anatomical features of the chest and shoulders are modern.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. Ma 440 - Bibliography:
- Gisela Richter, The Portraits of the Greeks, vol. I (London: Phaidon Press, 1965), 45-56, esp. 51 no. IV.11, figs. 79-80
- Related Work:
- Duplicates ID no. 614.
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Paris, Louvre (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.