Statuette of Alexander the Great (?)
- Title:
- Statuette of Alexander the Great (?)
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown (perhaps inspired by an original by Lysippos)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
date unknown, probably based on an original of the 4th c. BCE
- Location:
- 726 University Avenue, Cornell University
- ID Number:
- CCC_0664
- Accession Number:
- Sage no. 425
425 (sticker in front and written on bottom of socle)
1332 or 1352 in relief on back of socle
654 - File Name:
- CCC_0664.tif
- Culture:
- Hellenistic Greek or Roman
- Style/Period:
- Hellenistic
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
bronze sculpture in the round (original) - Subject:
- Alexander the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C.
- Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 31 (with base) x 33.3 (without base) x 14.8 x 11.8 (centimeters, height x height x width x diameter)
base: 2.3 x 9.6 x 9.7 (centimeters, height x width x diameter) - Description:
- This is a cast of a bronze statuette of a standing, semi-nude male figure who holds an object in his extended right hand, and who probably held a spear in his raised left hand (missing in the original). He stands in contrapposto placing his weight on his straightened right leg. A garment drapes over the figure's left shoulder and covers his lower abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. He turns his head slightly to his right and down and looks ahead. The figure's hairstyle, facial features, and pose might identify him as Alexander the Great.
The original from which this cast was made remains to be located. The work shares similarities in pose with Lysippos' Alexander with a lance, an Alexander portrait type known primarily from statuettes and coins, and was perhaps inspired by it. For parallels, see: the similarly posed but more fully draped statuette of Alexander in Baltimore (Walters no. 54.1075), who holds an object in his outstretched hand
and an unpublished nude statuette with many similar features in Great Britain (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de, no. 219661). - Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
- Bibliography:
- J. J. Pollitt, Art in the Hellenistic Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 21-23
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Unknown (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.