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Statue of Demeter with syncretic features of Io/Isis
Roman Provincial
Imperial Period
second half of 2nd century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Marble, Dolomitic from the Greek Island of Thasos
Dimensions
Height: 81 cm (31 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Paul E. Manheim
Accession Number1970.242
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 189; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 112 (additional published references).
DescriptionDemeter wears a mantle covering her head and wrapped tightly over her dress. In her left hand are two ears of wheat and a poppy, and on her head is a headdress called modius embellished with a disk. With her right hand, she originally supported a tall torch or scepter, which was set into pinholes on the sculpture’s base. The arm and torch were replaced in antiquity, making use of an iron clamp behind the shoulder. Right arm now missing from shoulder.
Two small horns emerging from her forehead evoke the mythological figure Io, who was turned into a cow and wandered to Egypt. Io was identified by the Greeks with the Egyptian goddess Isis, who may also be referenced here by the (solar?) disk on the modius.
Scientific Analysis:
Marble has been scientifically tested with X-Ray Diffraction and determined to be Dolomitic.
Harvard Lab No. HI365: Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.95 / delta18O -4.59, Attribution - Thasos-Cape Vathy, Justification - Dolomitic by XRD.
Two small horns emerging from her forehead evoke the mythological figure Io, who was turned into a cow and wandered to Egypt. Io was identified by the Greeks with the Egyptian goddess Isis, who may also be referenced here by the (solar?) disk on the modius.
Scientific Analysis:
Marble has been scientifically tested with X-Ray Diffraction and determined to be Dolomitic.
Harvard Lab No. HI365: Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.95 / delta18O -4.59, Attribution - Thasos-Cape Vathy, Justification - Dolomitic by XRD.
ProvenanceBy 1970, Paul E. Manheim (b. 1905- d. 1999); 1970, gift of Paul E. Manheim to the MFA. (Accession date: March 11, 1970)