Roman, 1st century BCE–2nd century CE, copy of a Greek original of 6th–5th century BCE; bronze; 19 × 8.5 × 5 cm (7 1/2 × 3 3/8 × 1 15/16 in.). BZ.1936.66
A young woman offers the flower and fruit of a pomegranate, a symbol of fertility because of its innumerable seeds. Such statuettes were deposited in temples to pray continually on behalf of devout donors. Bronzes like this one were also sometimes intended for display in the home to express both the erudition and piety of its owner.
Provenance
- Said to have been found at Macerata, Italy. Collection of Count Dino Spetia di Radione (1882–1958); sold at Sotheby’s, London, December 1928, to “Rowland” (possibly Rowland Read?) (in Illustrated London News, December 22, 1928, 1190, with figures); Adolph Loewi (1888–1977), Venice and New York; purchased from Loewi by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, DC, December 1936; transferred to Harvard University, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Byzantine Collection, Washington, DC, November 1940.
Selected Bibliography
- G. M. A. Richter, Catalogue of Greek and Roman Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Cambridge, MA, 1956), 29, no. 16, plate 12.
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Emaciated Man
Roman, 1st century, copy of Greek original of 2nd century BCE; bronze; 11.5 × 5 × 8.3 cm (4 1/2 × 1 15/16 × 3 1/4 in.). BZ.1947.22
Statuette of Hephaistos
Greek, 5th century BCE; bronze; 21.5 × 5.2 × 7.2 cm (8 7/16 × 2 1/16 × 2 13/16 in.). BZ.1936.61
Young Woman with Offerings
Roman, 1st century BCE–2nd century CE, copy of a Greek original of 6th–5th century BCE; bronze; 19 × 8.5 × 5 cm (7 1/2 × 3 3/8 × 1 15/16 in.). BZ.1936.66