Monday, April 28, 2025

A Naked Sculpture from the Temple of Damascus

 


Only the pelvis and the proximal lower extremities remain. The left stump has kept its knee while the right has not. Of the genitals, we still have the scrotal sac along with a round tuberosity where the phallus originated. The buttocks are well preserved, and enough of the lower trunk is left to indicate a tilt to the side. The surface is coated with a thin ochre patina. 
The statue was perhaps modeled after a mid-5th century BC masterpiece of the Polykleitan School

Provenance: The Great Mosque of Damascus, most probably from unpublished excavations south of the temenos wall and near its junction with Sūq aṣ-Ṣāġā. Found reused in medieval masonry, it was brought to the Museum on Dec 13, 1963.  
Substance: white marble. 
Dimensions: H 29 cm, W 15.7 cm, D 13.4 cm. 
Era: second century CE. 
Text: adapted from Weber (p.25).




Thomas M. Weber. Sculptures from Roman Syria in the Syrian National Museum of Damascus. Vol I, from Cities and Villages in Central and Southern Syria. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. Worms. 2006.

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