Torso of Dionysos or Apollo

Artist Unidentified artist

CultureRoman

Date2nd century

Mediummarble

Dimensions20 x 12 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (50.8 x 31.8 x 14 cm)

Classificationssculpture

Credit LineAckland Fund

Object number62.14.1

DescriptionThis nude male torso derives from a smaller than life-sized youth standing in contraposto pose, the raised left hip balanced by the elevated right shoulder. Long locks hang over the shoulders toward the armpits, but the rest of the figure’s hair would have been bound up, as none appears on the back. The left, supporting, leg is straight, and the right, free, leg is forward; there is no pubic hair. The right arm originally hung straight, the left was held out from the body; the waist has greater contraction at left. The neck is tilted to left, and the hair falls lower at left than right, indicating the head’s turn and inclination to proper left. The wavy locks are precisely drilled. A strut on the left thigh remains from a support, likely in the form of a tree trunk, which suggests that the model for this statue was in bronze.

On View

On view

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