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拍品專文
The over life-sized goddess is depicted wearing the Attic helmet, the crest at the top now partially missing, the head slightly turned to the left and looking up, with serene expression. The long curly hair is parted at the centre, with locks coming out from underneath the helmet at the sides.
The attribute of the helmet allows us to identify this head as a representation of Minerva, or Athena in the Greek pantheon, the warrior goddess. Minerva was widely worshipped by the Romans throughout the empire, and was celebrated in the calendar over five days during the Quinquatrus, between 19-23 March. Given her popularity, representations of the goddess were common in antiquity and some colossal examples, possibly placed in temples or in the forum, still survive, such as the monumental head in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia, cf. G. Traversari, Sculture del V.- IV. sec. del Museo Archeologico di Venezia, 1973, p. 36, no. 12. For another example of Minerva wearing the crested helmet in the collection of the Musei Vaticani, Galleria Chiaramonti, see I. Altripp, Athenastatuen der Spätklassik und des Hellenismus, Cologne, 2010, p. 332, cat. no. VT I 2, pl. 56.
This head was originally attributed by Comte de Caylus to Alexander the Great, possibly due to the unruly 'leonine' hair often associated with the conqueror. For an example of the goddess Minerva depicted with similar shorter locks coming out at the sides of the head from underneath a Corinthian helmet see inv. no. C 72 at the Bardo National Museum, Tunis (Arachne Database number 1078940).
Anne Claude Comte de Caylus (1692–1765) was a French antiquarian, archaeologist, and art collector known for his influential contributions to the study of ancient art and history. Born into a noble family, he served in the French military before dedicating himself to scholarly pursuits. Caylus is best remembered for his monumental work 'Recueil d'antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques et romaines,' a detailed study of ancient artifacts, which helped shape the field of archaeology and antiquarianism in the 18th century. A member of the French Academy, Caylus was a talented etcher and also a patron of the arts, supporting various artists and engravers.
The attribute of the helmet allows us to identify this head as a representation of Minerva, or Athena in the Greek pantheon, the warrior goddess. Minerva was widely worshipped by the Romans throughout the empire, and was celebrated in the calendar over five days during the Quinquatrus, between 19-23 March. Given her popularity, representations of the goddess were common in antiquity and some colossal examples, possibly placed in temples or in the forum, still survive, such as the monumental head in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia, cf. G. Traversari, Sculture del V.- IV. sec. del Museo Archeologico di Venezia, 1973, p. 36, no. 12. For another example of Minerva wearing the crested helmet in the collection of the Musei Vaticani, Galleria Chiaramonti, see I. Altripp, Athenastatuen der Spätklassik und des Hellenismus, Cologne, 2010, p. 332, cat. no. VT I 2, pl. 56.
This head was originally attributed by Comte de Caylus to Alexander the Great, possibly due to the unruly 'leonine' hair often associated with the conqueror. For an example of the goddess Minerva depicted with similar shorter locks coming out at the sides of the head from underneath a Corinthian helmet see inv. no. C 72 at the Bardo National Museum, Tunis (Arachne Database number 1078940).
Anne Claude Comte de Caylus (1692–1765) was a French antiquarian, archaeologist, and art collector known for his influential contributions to the study of ancient art and history. Born into a noble family, he served in the French military before dedicating himself to scholarly pursuits. Caylus is best remembered for his monumental work 'Recueil d'antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques et romaines,' a detailed study of ancient artifacts, which helped shape the field of archaeology and antiquarianism in the 18th century. A member of the French Academy, Caylus was a talented etcher and also a patron of the arts, supporting various artists and engravers.