Relief sculpture from the Harpy Tomb, east side
- Title:
- Relief sculpture from the Harpy Tomb, east 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, north end
previously, Warehouse
before that, Goldwin Smith Hall basement 287
Xanthos, Turkey (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0217
- Accession Number:
- Sage no. 82
Goldwin Smith Hall basement 11 (black marker in back)
217 - File Name:
- CCC_0217.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 102.5 (H) x 60 (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 56.5 x 5 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a cast of two figures, weathered in the original, who stand to the viewer's left of a central offering scene on the east side of the Harpy Tomb at Xanthos, a tomb perhaps built for the Lycian ruler Kybernis. The sex of the figures remains debated, but several characteristics suggest that they are male. Both figures are shown in profile facing right, are draped in sleeved chitons to their ankles, and stand with their left feet advanced. With his left hand, the rotund figure at the left grasps his drapery below the waist, and with his right hand he raises an indistinct object up to his face. The more svelte figure to the right holds a hanging pomegranate with his left hand and holds up what might be a flower in his right hand. 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 east side of the Harpy Tomb is composed of three casts: ID nos. 217, 209, and 212.
- 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.