A Marble Relief Fragment, 250 CE - 270 CE
Marble
41.3 x 29.2 cm
16 1/4 x 11 1/2 in
16 1/4 x 11 1/2 in
DC.7400
Further images
This fine marble relief fragment was most probably taken from the corner of a monumental lion-hunt sarcophagus. It is finely carved in high relief in the manner of a young...
This fine marble relief fragment was most probably taken from the corner of a monumental lion-hunt sarcophagus. It is finely carved in high relief in the manner of a young hunter who wears a chlamys fastened around his right shoulder with his head carved almost in the round and turned sharply to his right just enough to make out his long sideburns. His face is composed of large eyes with recessed crescent pupils and incised irises while his hair is swept up and back from his forehead in long wavy locks.
His vigorous and youthful body is certainly an achievement within itself, as is the Chalmys, which is draped so languorously across his shoulder. But the aesthetic perfection of his body and the juxtaposition of his sharp muscles against the rich and supple folds of the cloth does not grab us with nearly as much force as his visage. His forehead is short and wide and his hairline unusually arched. The sweep of his long hair with its stray sideburns makes him appear dashing and slightly wild and sets him apart from the neatly arranged curls of most Hellenic sculptures. But the riot of hair cannot for an instant detract from the utter regality and nobility of his face. His vaulted cheekbones accentuate the hollow of his wide inquisitive yearning eyes. His nose artfully planes out from his brow making its straight and bold lines prominent. His lips especially fascinate us with their fullness, their sensuality, the way they curve atop his round mouth and play into the sharp curve of his boyish chin.
His face, despite being in every way an exception to the canon of Hellenistic art provides us with a sense of comfort and undeniable familiarity. This is perhaps because the boy we are seeing, in all likelihood, was destined to become one of the most famous young men in the history of the world. We see in this boy’s dashing features a young Alexander the Great. The chin has not yet filled out into the masculinity of his older age, and his face is a bit thinner in youth, but the regal structure of the countenance, the full and unusual femininity of the lips, and most of all his eyes lead us to conclude this young hunter is, in fact the original master of the world. Looking into his eyes, we see the yearning, the intelligence, and the confident ambition of the conqueror. But rather than seeing a being that has attained his immortality, we see in this face the tension, the thirst, the passion, of one who knows that his immortality lies right around the corner. For those of us who harbor Alexandrian aspirations it is an emotional experience to see our own yen reflected in this piece. What is rendered eternal in this sculpture, with as much grace and skill as ever any masterpiece throughout history has managed, is the potential contained within those who shall someday hold the world in their hands. From a block of marble, the hands and mind of an artist managed to divine the future of this young hunter, and with it, the future of the world. To posses this piece is to bottle the expression that would spread Greece to every corner of the world, and ensure the progress of modern thought, as we know it. - (DC.7400)
His vigorous and youthful body is certainly an achievement within itself, as is the Chalmys, which is draped so languorously across his shoulder. But the aesthetic perfection of his body and the juxtaposition of his sharp muscles against the rich and supple folds of the cloth does not grab us with nearly as much force as his visage. His forehead is short and wide and his hairline unusually arched. The sweep of his long hair with its stray sideburns makes him appear dashing and slightly wild and sets him apart from the neatly arranged curls of most Hellenic sculptures. But the riot of hair cannot for an instant detract from the utter regality and nobility of his face. His vaulted cheekbones accentuate the hollow of his wide inquisitive yearning eyes. His nose artfully planes out from his brow making its straight and bold lines prominent. His lips especially fascinate us with their fullness, their sensuality, the way they curve atop his round mouth and play into the sharp curve of his boyish chin.
His face, despite being in every way an exception to the canon of Hellenistic art provides us with a sense of comfort and undeniable familiarity. This is perhaps because the boy we are seeing, in all likelihood, was destined to become one of the most famous young men in the history of the world. We see in this boy’s dashing features a young Alexander the Great. The chin has not yet filled out into the masculinity of his older age, and his face is a bit thinner in youth, but the regal structure of the countenance, the full and unusual femininity of the lips, and most of all his eyes lead us to conclude this young hunter is, in fact the original master of the world. Looking into his eyes, we see the yearning, the intelligence, and the confident ambition of the conqueror. But rather than seeing a being that has attained his immortality, we see in this face the tension, the thirst, the passion, of one who knows that his immortality lies right around the corner. For those of us who harbor Alexandrian aspirations it is an emotional experience to see our own yen reflected in this piece. What is rendered eternal in this sculpture, with as much grace and skill as ever any masterpiece throughout history has managed, is the potential contained within those who shall someday hold the world in their hands. From a block of marble, the hands and mind of an artist managed to divine the future of this young hunter, and with it, the future of the world. To posses this piece is to bottle the expression that would spread Greece to every corner of the world, and ensure the progress of modern thought, as we know it. - (DC.7400)