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Head of an athlete
Roman
Imperial Period
probably A.D. 50–75
Medium/Technique
Marble probably from the Greek island of Paros
Dimensions
Height x length (of face): 37 x 18.5 cm (14 9/16 x 7 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900
Accession Number03.754
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 134; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 110 (additional published references).
DescriptionThis head of a youth represents an athlete: around his head he wears both a cord (perhaps to hold his hair) and a ribbon, presented by an admirer. He may have been a boxer, as his ears appear swollen.
Classicistic creation inspired by Greek sculpture of about 460 B.C. Head of an athlete. Has cavities for inserted eyes. Hair treated with fine lines, tied into small knot on top of forehead. His headband is doubled; a cord holds his hair in place, and above is a ribbon awarded for athletic prowess. His puffy ears mark him as a boxer. Missing: nose and inserted eyes. The eyes were originally inlaid in another material
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI720: Isotope ratios - delta13C +5.13 / delta18O -2.95, Attribution - Paros 1, Justification - White with gray shadow, fine to medium grained marble.
Classicistic creation inspired by Greek sculpture of about 460 B.C. Head of an athlete. Has cavities for inserted eyes. Hair treated with fine lines, tied into small knot on top of forehead. His headband is doubled; a cord holds his hair in place, and above is a ribbon awarded for athletic prowess. His puffy ears mark him as a boxer. Missing: nose and inserted eyes. The eyes were originally inlaid in another material
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI720: Isotope ratios - delta13C +5.13 / delta18O -2.95, Attribution - Paros 1, Justification - White with gray shadow, fine to medium grained marble.
ProvenanceBy 1903: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: Bought in Rome.); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, March 24,1903