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Marble Fragment of Large Statue with Bust of Hercules or Herm, frontal view. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
Draped Herm
- Date
- 1st C AD, Roman
- Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
- NoEx70.015
- Material
- Marble, Stone
- Object Type
- Sculpture
- Sculpture Type
- Mythological Figure, Herm
- Site
- Sardis
- Findspot
- Village of Sart Mustafa (Sardis), 400 N of Izmir-Ankara highway.
- Description
The archaising head has three rows of corkscrew curls, elongated eyes, a drooping moustache, and heavy beard, with bottom corners broken off. One lock of hair is at each side of head. The rectangular shaft had a horizontal strut on both sides. A hole in bottom center may be for an ancient repair. On top is heavy drapery falling mainly to the r. side.
The head is a Hermes after the Propylaios of Alkamenes. It is perhaps a copy of a group by Kephisodotus with youthful Hermes leaning on such a herm and carrying the infant Dionysus. There seems to be room for such a child on, and beside, drapery.
Stop-and-go drill work suggests 1st C. A.D. but possibly late Hellenistic.
- Condition
Marble.
Preserved are head of herm, upper part of shaft, and drapery, somewhat damaged.
- Dimensions
- H. 0.22; W. 0.115; H. of head 0.065; W. of head 0.055.
- Comments
- A male figure (Hermes?) carrying Baby Dionysus appears on coins of the Ionic League minted by M. Cl. Fronto, First Stratege of Sardis (cf. H. Engelmann, Prägung des ionischen Bundes. For a child sitting in adult hand see Cat. 109 (Figs. 234-235).
- See Also
- Bibliography
- Published: Ramage, passim (with further discussion and parallels); Hanfmann, Letters, fig. 221.
- Author
- NHR