• Marble statue of Nymph



Marble statue of Nymph
Marble statue of Nymph

Marble statue of Nymph

Γ154
Stone (White marble)
Mended from many fragments and restored on both hands and part of the hip.
Height: 128 cm. Max. Width: 34 cm. Diameter of basin: 42 cm. Height of pedestal: 8 cm.
Gortyn
Probably from a nymphaeum
Roman period:
late 1st c. AD:
Gallery:
XXVII
Case:
Not in case
Exhibition thematic unit:
Sculpture. Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd c. BC) Roman period (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD)
Statues of gods
Description
Standing, frontal, smaller-than-life-size female figure with both hands holding the rim of a fluted basin set on a small pillar decorated with acanthus leaves. Her heavily pleated himation (cloak) has fallen over her hips, leaving the whole of her plump, shapely upper body uncovered. Various iconographic details of the figure are borrowed from Classical or Hellenistic originals of statues of Aphrodite (Venus), such as the hairstyle (Capitoline Venus) or the posture and rendition of the garment (Venus Anadyomene). In effect, she is a variant of the Nymph holding a seashell, a sculptural type known from many examples across the Roman Empire. The existence of at least three Cretan statues of varying size depicting a similar nymph holding a basin indicates that this is an original creation of a local workshop eclectically inspired by familiar older originals. The almost square base and the hole in the centre of the basin and its plinth, together with the theme of the sculpture, prove that this it was a functional decorative feature of a Nymphaion in which water was a key feature.
Bibliography:
F. Halbherr, Lavori eseguiti in Creta dalla missione archeologica italiana dal 9 giugno al 9 novembre 1899, Roma 1899, 536. A. Taramelli, "Sui principali risultati della esplorazione archeologica italiana in Creta 1899-1902", in Atene e Roma V, 1902, 616. N. Platon, A Guide to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Athens 1964, 154. F. Ghedini, "Sculture dal Ninfeo e dal Pretorio di Gortina", Annuario della Scuola Archeologica Italiana LXIII 1985 (1989), 150, nr. 239. I. Romeo - E. C. Portale, Gortina III. Le sculture, Padua 1998, 211-4, tav. XXVc.
Author:
K. S.


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