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Lot Essay
A Thermoluminescence Analysis Report from Laboratory Ralf Kotalla, Haigerlock, Germany, confirming the dating accompanies this lot.
The portraiture of Alexander the Great is noteworthy for the wide range of styles employed to portray his unique physiognomy. The treatment of the hair, for example, can be long and wavy on some portraits, while others emphasize the cowlick (anastole). For the long and wavy style compare the head of Alexander Ares in the Pella Museum, no. 120 in Moreno, Alessandro Magno, Immagini come storia. This shares with the present example the pronounced crease in the forehead, another trait not universally found on his portraits. The diadem, too, is also only occasionally used, as here. For a portrait of Alexander wearing a thick diadem similar to that of the present example see the head from Rome, now in the Museo Nazionale di Varsavia, no. 197 in Moreno, op. cit.
Stylistic comparisons of this piece with late 4th century sculpture in stone and bronze invariably recall the Lysippan tradition. See, for example, the large scale bronze of the Victorious Youth, now in Malibu at the Getty Museum and often attributed to Lysippos (no. 4.10, p.71ff. in Moreno, et al., Lisippo, l'Arte e la Fortuna). Like our terracotta, this bronze features the attenuated body type and attention to sleek musculature. See also a bronze in the George Ortiz Collection that shares these exceptional qualities, no. 163 in Ortiz, The George Ortiz Collection, identified as Alexander and attributed to Lysippos or a close follower. In his Natural History (XXXIV, ch. 19, 98-99), Pliny celebrates this aspect of Lysippos' style and his significance in the timeline of ancient sculpture, "He is considered to have contributed very greatly to the art of statuary by expressing the details of the hair, and by making the head smaller than had been done by the ancients, and the body more graceful and less bulky, a method by which his statues were made to appear taller."
As court sculptor for Alexander, Lysippos is thought to have created the originals of all of the approved Alexander portrait types in the round. The most renowned, the Alexander with a Lance, has not survived, but is recorded by Plutarch in De Iside et Osiride, (XXIV, 115) "... he himself [Lysippos] had represented Alexander holding a spear, the glory of which no length of years could ever dim, since it was truthful and was his by right." There are several small bronzes, mainly from the Roman Period, that depict Alexander lifting his arm (usually the right) and likely once holding a lance. Often these pieces are interpreted as "associated with the sculptor Lysippos" (Pandermalis, Alexander the Great, Treasures from an Epic Era of Hellenism, no. 5, p. 26).
The present terracotta may be a more accurate reflection of this lost original. It is traditionally held that Alexander was left handed and here the young king is portrayed with his right arm relaxed and his left arm bent acutely to hold his lance, a trait which our terracotta shares with only a few other examples, such as the small Roman bronze now in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, no. 38, p. 118 in Yalouris, et al., The Search for Alexander, an Exhibition.
Outside of a cultic context, Greek terracotta sculpture from the Hellenistic Period in this impressive scale is exceedingly rare. The great coroplast centers of Smyrna and Myrina in Asia Minor, known for high quality, large scale terracottas, seem not to have achieved quite the level of sophistication and grace as seen on the present example (see Reeder, "Some Hellenistic Terracottas and Sculpture in Asia Minor," in Uhlenbrock, The Coroplast's Art, Greek Terracottas of the Hellenistic World).
The costume on our terracotta seems to be unique for the Alexander portraits in all media. Most of the surviving examples portray him in heroic nudity. The present figure, on the other hand, is clad in a chlamys over an unusual loin cloth, thought to be a "Persian Girdle," and ankle boots. The presence of these attributes, together with the lance, recalls an anecdote in Plutarch's The Life of Alexander in which the king clashes with Cleitus, a close comrade of his father's, and trusted veteran Macedonian officer. In this confrontation, Cleitus accuses Alexander not only of adopting the culture of the barbarians that he has conquered, but of assuming a demi-god status and demanding prostration by his subjects. "Cleitus, however, would not yield, but called on Alexander to speak out freely what he wished to say, or else not to invite to supper men who were free and spoke their minds, but to live with barbarians and slaves, who would do obeisance to his white tunic and Persian girdle (DI, 5)." Alexander then takes a lance from one of his guards and slays his old friend. In the aftermath of this violent scene, Alexander withdraws himself and contemplates suicide, realizing that he has become a person quite different from the civilized young Macedonian prince he once was. It is Alexander's flatterers who convince him that he has indeed achieved this right and that he is truly the son of the god Ammon, as he had been hailed by his Egyptian subjects. As a pivotal moment in Alexander's life, it would certainly appeal to Lysippos as the court sculptor to capture this moment for perpetuity.
Many of Alexander's successors, for several centuries, adopted his physical characteristics and attributes for their own portraiture. Jucker and Willers (op. cit.) suggested that the present figure might represent Antiochos VII or VIII. However, comparison with the numismatic evidence does not support a definite attribution to either these or any of Alexander's other successors.
The portraiture of Alexander the Great is noteworthy for the wide range of styles employed to portray his unique physiognomy. The treatment of the hair, for example, can be long and wavy on some portraits, while others emphasize the cowlick (anastole). For the long and wavy style compare the head of Alexander Ares in the Pella Museum, no. 120 in Moreno, Alessandro Magno, Immagini come storia. This shares with the present example the pronounced crease in the forehead, another trait not universally found on his portraits. The diadem, too, is also only occasionally used, as here. For a portrait of Alexander wearing a thick diadem similar to that of the present example see the head from Rome, now in the Museo Nazionale di Varsavia, no. 197 in Moreno, op. cit.
Stylistic comparisons of this piece with late 4th century sculpture in stone and bronze invariably recall the Lysippan tradition. See, for example, the large scale bronze of the Victorious Youth, now in Malibu at the Getty Museum and often attributed to Lysippos (no. 4.10, p.71ff. in Moreno, et al., Lisippo, l'Arte e la Fortuna). Like our terracotta, this bronze features the attenuated body type and attention to sleek musculature. See also a bronze in the George Ortiz Collection that shares these exceptional qualities, no. 163 in Ortiz, The George Ortiz Collection, identified as Alexander and attributed to Lysippos or a close follower. In his Natural History (XXXIV, ch. 19, 98-99), Pliny celebrates this aspect of Lysippos' style and his significance in the timeline of ancient sculpture, "He is considered to have contributed very greatly to the art of statuary by expressing the details of the hair, and by making the head smaller than had been done by the ancients, and the body more graceful and less bulky, a method by which his statues were made to appear taller."
As court sculptor for Alexander, Lysippos is thought to have created the originals of all of the approved Alexander portrait types in the round. The most renowned, the Alexander with a Lance, has not survived, but is recorded by Plutarch in De Iside et Osiride, (XXIV, 115) "... he himself [Lysippos] had represented Alexander holding a spear, the glory of which no length of years could ever dim, since it was truthful and was his by right." There are several small bronzes, mainly from the Roman Period, that depict Alexander lifting his arm (usually the right) and likely once holding a lance. Often these pieces are interpreted as "associated with the sculptor Lysippos" (Pandermalis, Alexander the Great, Treasures from an Epic Era of Hellenism, no. 5, p. 26).
The present terracotta may be a more accurate reflection of this lost original. It is traditionally held that Alexander was left handed and here the young king is portrayed with his right arm relaxed and his left arm bent acutely to hold his lance, a trait which our terracotta shares with only a few other examples, such as the small Roman bronze now in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, no. 38, p. 118 in Yalouris, et al., The Search for Alexander, an Exhibition.
Outside of a cultic context, Greek terracotta sculpture from the Hellenistic Period in this impressive scale is exceedingly rare. The great coroplast centers of Smyrna and Myrina in Asia Minor, known for high quality, large scale terracottas, seem not to have achieved quite the level of sophistication and grace as seen on the present example (see Reeder, "Some Hellenistic Terracottas and Sculpture in Asia Minor," in Uhlenbrock, The Coroplast's Art, Greek Terracottas of the Hellenistic World).
The costume on our terracotta seems to be unique for the Alexander portraits in all media. Most of the surviving examples portray him in heroic nudity. The present figure, on the other hand, is clad in a chlamys over an unusual loin cloth, thought to be a "Persian Girdle," and ankle boots. The presence of these attributes, together with the lance, recalls an anecdote in Plutarch's The Life of Alexander in which the king clashes with Cleitus, a close comrade of his father's, and trusted veteran Macedonian officer. In this confrontation, Cleitus accuses Alexander not only of adopting the culture of the barbarians that he has conquered, but of assuming a demi-god status and demanding prostration by his subjects. "Cleitus, however, would not yield, but called on Alexander to speak out freely what he wished to say, or else not to invite to supper men who were free and spoke their minds, but to live with barbarians and slaves, who would do obeisance to his white tunic and Persian girdle (DI, 5)." Alexander then takes a lance from one of his guards and slays his old friend. In the aftermath of this violent scene, Alexander withdraws himself and contemplates suicide, realizing that he has become a person quite different from the civilized young Macedonian prince he once was. It is Alexander's flatterers who convince him that he has indeed achieved this right and that he is truly the son of the god Ammon, as he had been hailed by his Egyptian subjects. As a pivotal moment in Alexander's life, it would certainly appeal to Lysippos as the court sculptor to capture this moment for perpetuity.
Many of Alexander's successors, for several centuries, adopted his physical characteristics and attributes for their own portraiture. Jucker and Willers (op. cit.) suggested that the present figure might represent Antiochos VII or VIII. However, comparison with the numismatic evidence does not support a definite attribution to either these or any of Alexander's other successors.