Limestone Herakles

Limestone Herakles

Period:ArchaicDate:ca. 530–520 B.C.Culture:CypriotMedium:LimestoneDimensions:H. 85 1/2 in. (217.2 cm)Classification:Stone SculptureCredit Line:The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76Accession Number:74.51.2455

The statue was considerably reworked by Cesnola's "restorers" so that numerous features of the original are no longer clear. The proper left arm and the legs were certainly reattached; the original position of the right arm has also been obscured. Herakles wears a tunic, belt, modified kilt, and lionskin. In his left hand he held a bow, half of which appears against his body. (The pickle-shaped club that he brandished for many decades was added in modern times and has been removed.) On his right thigh are the ends of the arrows that he held in his right hand. Although the head 74.51.2857 indicates that Cypriot sculptors were working on a large scale as early as the beginning of the sixth century B.C., it was only during the second half of the century that monumental pieces were produced in some quantity.

Met Museum

metmuseum.org