Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE C: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Pseudo-Archaic Athena Promachos
Alternate Title:
Herculaneum Pallas
Image View:
Overall view from front; once held spear
Creator:
unknown (Roman (ancient) sculptor)
Location:
repository: Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples, Campania, Italy) 6007
Location Note:
Piazza Museo, 19
GPS:
40.853378 14.250486
Date:
probably 49-25 BCE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Roman (ancient)
Style Period:
Early Imperial
Work Type 1:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
stone
Technique:
carving (processes)
Measurements:
1.90 m (height)
Subjects:
deities; mythology (Classical); Athena (Greek deity); Herculaneum (Extinct city)
Description:
Athena Promachos (or Pallas Athena) from the tablinum of the Villa of the Papyri, in Herculaneum, probably late Hellenistic period (49-25 BCE). This is an example of the Roman fashion for "archaizing", making sculptures in imitation of the early Greek Archaic style. Archaizing sculpture is characterized by the use of an amalgam of stylistic versions of the Archaic period, such as the long parallel folds of the clothing (but with anachronistic sleeves), and the neo-Classical face. But the features are so eclectic and stylized that they could never be believed to be of real Archaic date. Pallas is the Roman equivalent of Athena, and the striding pose brandishing a spear aloft (promachos) was a popular subject on painted pots from earlier centuries. A huge Athena Promachos stood on the Athenian Acropolis. (Source: Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge; https://www.classics .cam.ac.uk/museum)
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module C: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-R-NAM-VP-A-A01
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Pseudo-Archaic Athena Promachos