Relief sculpture from the Harpy Tomb, south side
- Title:
- Relief sculpture from the Harpy Tomb, south side
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Photographer:
- Alexandridis, Annetta
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
ca. 480–470 BCE
2009 (image)
- Site:
- Xanthos, Turkey (original)
- Location:
- Klarman Hall, first floor, south end
previously, Warehouse
Xanthos, Turkey (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0211
- Accession Number:
- Sage no. 82
b.1 in relief on top right edge
black marker on back: Goldwin Smith Hall basement9
211 - File Name:
- CCC_0211.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 102.5 (H) x 108 (W) cm
- Culture:
- Lycian
- Style/Period:
- Greek Classical
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
marble sculpture in relief (original) - Subject:
- Sepulchral Monuments
Xanthos (Ancient city) - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 102 x 107 x 5 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a cast of the central scene from the south side of the Harpy Tomb at Xanthos, a tomb perhaps built for the Lycian ruler Kybernis, showing a seated figure on the viewer's left accepting an offering from a standing figure to the right. The figures are flanked by Sirens, cast separately (ID nos. 213 and 218). The figure at the left, a seemingly corpulent male in a sleeved chiton with a chlamys or himation draped on his upper body, sits in profile facing right on a backed chair with a worked legs. He holds a pomegranate up in his left hand and an apple out in his right. A long staff rests between his left shoulder and the ground. The top of his head is missing in the original (see below). A figure, generally identified as a male, stands in front of him. He wears a sleeved, long chiton with a chlamys or himation over his left shoulder. He holds his right hand up in a gesture of reverence and in his left hand he holds a dove by its wings, offering it to the seated man. His head is missing in the original. The missing fragment of the head of the seated figure was discovered by French excavators at Xanthos and a cast of the fragment is held by the British Museum. The Harpy Tomb, also referred to as the Harpy Monument, took the form of a sculpted square marble chamber tomb atop a tall limestone pillar and was one of many decorative Lycian tombs set atop tall bases. The marble chamber was removed from the limestone pillar and taken to the British Museum in 1842, where it is displayed today. A replica of the relief-carved chamber is in place on the original pillar at the site of Xanthos.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. 1848,1020.1 - Bibliography:
- Christin Rudolph, Das 'Harpyien-Monument' von Xanthos: seine Bedeutung innerhalb der spätarchaischen Plastik. BAR International Series 1108 (Oxford: John and Erica Hedges Ltd., 2003)
F. J. Tritsch, "The Harpy Tomb at Xanthus," JHS 62 (1942), 39-50
Ian Jenkins, Greek Architecture and its Sculpture (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), 163-168 - Related Work:
- The south side of the Harpy Tomb is composed of three casts: ID nos. 213, 218, and 211.
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
London, British Museum (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.