Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Re-Carved Colossal Head of Hercules
(Medieval Europe )
This large marble head, possibly from an over-life-sized sculpture of Hercules, was excavated near the Florence baptistery and adapted and partly recarved to fit a medieval sculpture. Differences in the drill marks on the beard and the hair (those in the hair are finer and deeper than those in the beard) indicate that the head was probably modified in the Middle Ages. Many of the sculpted figures that once adorned the facade of the Duomo in Florence were completed with adaptations of ancient heads. The nose and left ear of this head are modern.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Arthur Sambon, Paris [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Brummer Sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, June 9, 1949, Pt. III, no. 558; Walters Art Museum, June 9, 1949, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 2016 | Waste Not: The Art of Medieval Recycling. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 6/23/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 5/16/2016 | Treatment | Prepared for exhibition. |
| 5/16/2016 | Treatment | Old fills around the restored nose and proper right ear were toned using Golden Fluid Acrylic Colors. No attempt was made to hide the restorations. |
Measurements
H: 18 3/16 × D: 16 5/16 in. (46.23 × 41.4 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1949
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.533