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A Marble Caryatid Figure of the Muse Melpomene, Asia Minor, Roman Imperial, circa 2nd Century A.D.
Description
- A Marble Caryatid Figure of the Muse Melpomene, Asia Minor
- Marble
- Height 48 1/2 in. 123.2 cm.
Provenance
French private collection, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, prior to 2000
Spanish private collection, Madrid, 2000-2013
Literature
R. Heidenreich, “Bupalos und Pergamon,” Archäologischer Anzeiger, 1935, p. 693, fig. 12
Helga Herdejürgen, Thronende Göttin aus Tarent in Berlin, und zur archaischen und archaistischen Schrägmanteltracht., Waldsassen/Bayern, 1968, p. 86, no. 3
Andreas Schmidt-Colinet, Antike Stützfiguren. Untersuchungen zu Typus und Bedeutung der menschgestaltigen Architekturstütze in der griechischen und römischen Kunst, Frankfurt and Berlin, 1977, p. 37, W42
Evamaria Schmidt, Geschichte der Karyatide. Funktion und Bedeutung der menschlichen Träger- und Stützfigur in der Baukunst, Würzburg, 1982, p. 95
Mark Fullerton, “Archaistic Statuary of the Hellenistic Period,” Mitteilungen des Deutschen archäologischen Instituts. Athenische Abteilung, vol. 102, 1987, p. 271 and note 52 (as “location unknown”)
s.v. “Mousai,”Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, vol. VII, Zurich and Munich, 1994, p. 993, no. 174
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
For two larger but clearly related antithetical figures of Melpomene originally decorating the stage building of the theater at Aphrodisias, each holding a mask, similarly draped in a somewhat archaistic style, and probably with one arm formerly raised, see K.T. Erim and R.R.R. Smith, “Sculpture from the Theatre: A Preliminary Report,” Aphrodisias Papers 2, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1991, p. 70, figs. 4 and 5. In the reconstruction suggested by the excavators in the Aphrodisias Museum, the two figures of Melpomene flank a torso of the god Apollo which was also found in the central part of the stage.
According to the LIMC article, the two statues at Aphrodisias and the present one, possibly from Thyateira (see Buchler, op. cit.) all reflect the same prototype designated as the “Melpomene Aphrodisias/Tyatheira” (also see B. Ridgway, Hellenistic Sculpture III: The Styles of ca. 100-31 B.C, Madison, Wis., 2002, p. 150, note 3), which itself goes back to a 2nd Century B.C. type represented by the caryatids from the theater at Miletus (illus. in Fullerton, op. cit., 1987, pl. 19-3-4).