Bronze grotesque

Unknown

2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Bronze · Greek and Roman Art

Since its discovery in 1727, this figure's identity has been debated. His disproportionately large head has a prominent nose, canines and whites of the eyes originally inlaid in silver, and hair and a beard once rendered in a matte black metal inlay. The circular area on the back of his head may have been for an attached curl of hair. The close-fitting garment reveals his misshapen body, and he wears sandals. Prevailing scholarly opinion has called the figure a mime and dated it to the first century B.C./A.D. A recent suggestion is that he is a caricature of an Alexandrian pedant, datable in the early second century B.C.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd century BCE–1st century CE

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Greek

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1912