The 'Chatsworth Head', probably Apollo

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The 'Chatsworth Head', probably Apollo
The 'Chatsworth Head', probably Apollo

This magnificent bronze head of an athletic young man comes from a slightly over life-size statue. Intact when it was found in 1836 near the village of Politiko in central Cyprus, the statue was broken up for scrap because its archaeological importance was not recognized. The only parts to survive were the head and one of the legs. The statue could be a worshipper but is probably the god Apollo, who in Classical Greek art is often shown as an athletic nude.

The head's modern name derives from the fact that for many years, while in the possession of the Dukes of Devonshire, it was preserved at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

By the end of the Archaic period (about 600-480 BC) sculptors had mastered the complexities of anatomy. However, they did not immediately pursue complete realism, but an idealised concept of human perfection. This often makes it difficult to determine whether a representation is intended to be a human being or a god, unless the figure holds or wears something to aid identification. At this period it is usually deities who are represented over life-size, and the long curly locks of hair probably indicate that this is the Greek god Apollo.

The eyes were originally inlaid, perhaps in glass, marble or ivory, held by bronze plates. These are still in place in the eye-sockets, and their projecting edges are shaped to form eye-lashes. The statue itself would have been made in sections, probably with the head, arms and legs cast separately by the indirect lost-wax technique and then joined together. Some of the locks of hair were also made separately and attached.

Politiko (ancient Tamassos), Sanctuary of Apollo, Cyprus, ca. 470-460 BCE.

British Museum, London (1958,0418.1)

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Taken on: May 7, 2024
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