Piombino Apollo
Piombino Apollo
Discovered in 1832 in a wreck off the Tuscan coast, near Piombino, this statue of Apollo is one of the few surviving original Greek bronze statues.
This work, carried out according to the technique of lost wax casting, retains copper inlays on the eyebrows, lips and nipples. The eyes were reported in another material.
The hieratic posture, the arms slightly folded and the left leg advanced recall the male nudes of the late sixth century BC. However, the modeling of the back, the hair treatment and other details doesn't allow recognizing the Apollo of Piombino as an original creation of the sixth century.
The appearance and the stylistic treatment of the work indicate, rather, that it is an archaic "pastiche", strongly influenced by the memory of the archaic kouroi.
The dating of the Apollo's statue was, however, hotly debated. A tablet of lead, found inside the statue during its restoration in 1842 and now lost, reported the engraved names of two sculptors of Tyre and Rhodes active in the first century BC and, probably, the authors of the statue.
Despite this historical reference, the work has long been considered an archaic creation of the second half of the fifth century BC. In 1977, a statue similar to our Apollo both in size both in style, was unearthed at Pompeii, in the villa of C. Julius Polybius. This finding confirms the hypothesis, now widely accepted, of a "pastiche" created at the end of the Hellenistic period for a roman customer greedy of Greek sculptures, mostly used to adorn gardens and villas.
Greek bronze sculpture
Late Hellenistic period
1st century BC
From Piombino, Livorno
Paris, Musée du Louvre
Piombino Apollo
Piombino Apollo
Discovered in 1832 in a wreck off the Tuscan coast, near Piombino, this statue of Apollo is one of the few surviving original Greek bronze statues.
This work, carried out according to the technique of lost wax casting, retains copper inlays on the eyebrows, lips and nipples. The eyes were reported in another material.
The hieratic posture, the arms slightly folded and the left leg advanced recall the male nudes of the late sixth century BC. However, the modeling of the back, the hair treatment and other details doesn't allow recognizing the Apollo of Piombino as an original creation of the sixth century.
The appearance and the stylistic treatment of the work indicate, rather, that it is an archaic "pastiche", strongly influenced by the memory of the archaic kouroi.
The dating of the Apollo's statue was, however, hotly debated. A tablet of lead, found inside the statue during its restoration in 1842 and now lost, reported the engraved names of two sculptors of Tyre and Rhodes active in the first century BC and, probably, the authors of the statue.
Despite this historical reference, the work has long been considered an archaic creation of the second half of the fifth century BC. In 1977, a statue similar to our Apollo both in size both in style, was unearthed at Pompeii, in the villa of C. Julius Polybius. This finding confirms the hypothesis, now widely accepted, of a "pastiche" created at the end of the Hellenistic period for a roman customer greedy of Greek sculptures, mostly used to adorn gardens and villas.
Greek bronze sculpture
Late Hellenistic period
1st century BC
From Piombino, Livorno
Paris, Musée du Louvre