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Fragmentary Male Torso

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Fragmentary Male Torso

Place of OriginSyria or Turkey
Datec. 2nd century CE
Dimensions37 13/16 × 17 1/8 × 13 1/2 in. (96 × 43.5 × 34.3 cm)
MediumBasalt or a similar stone, likely quarried in the Hauran region (modern-day southern Syria).
ClassificationSculpture
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Henry W. Wilhelm, Madame Georges Henri Riviere, Thomas Whittemore, and the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology, by exchange
Object number
2017.25
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic
DescriptionThe life-size basalt torso depicts a well-muscled male figure from the neck to upper thighs. The surface is dark and slightly mottled, with signs of wear and historical fractures. The legs are truncated mid-thigh and no arms or head remain. The stone is dense and smooth, showing subtle modeling of the abdomen and pectorals.
Label TextCarved from the black, hard stone basalt, this over life-size figure comes from the Eastern part of the Roman Empire, probably from modern-day Turkey or Syria. The well-muscled nude would have likely depicted an athlete, a hero, or a god, although the absence of an identifiable attribute and the lack of pubic hair indicate that the figure instead may be an idealized youth. The deeply carved grooves between muscles give the figure a powerful, captivating presence.
Horus
Probably Ptolemaic Dynasty, 305-30 BCE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Landscape with a Castle
Paul Sandby
about 1776-1786
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, about 1479-1298 BCE
Arkilla Jenngo (Ceremonial Hanging in Wedding Tent)
Fulɓe, Fula, Fulani Peoples
20th century
Figured and Fancy Coverlet
Samuel Butterfield
1837
Fragment of a shallow bowl
19th or 20th century
Diadem
250-150 BCE
Fragment of molded male and female torso
1st century BCE - 2nd century CE

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