Alexander sculpture

[Alexias]

I was browsing this website http://edgarlowen.com/greek-art.shtml and came across these items being sold as Alexander

Alexander the Great. He sits on his rearing horse holding the reins in one hand and a Macedonian type shield in the other, the whole wonderfully composed and executed. 4.1 x 4.75 inches. Considerable remains of white, black and red pigment. Provenance: From the collection of an American diplomat stationed in Italy in the early part of the 20th century. On Italian marble base.

A GREEK GOLD APPLIQUE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT AS YOUNG HERCULES. Hellenistic, c. 3rd-1st century BC. The sheet gold applique of circular form with the head of the young Herakles wearing his lion-skin helmet done in repousse technique, six small holes for attachment in the circumference. 24 mm diameter. Rare.

This one is interesting showing Alexander as pop-art or a good luck charm maybe. Or is it just Herakles?

SUPERB CALENE WARE GUTTOS OIL LAMP FILLER, c. 3rd century BC. The black glazed terra cotta lamp filler with an exquisite molded facing head of Alexander The Great as the young Heracles wearing the skin of a heavily maned lion on his head, the paws tied beneath his chin. 4.75 x 5.25 inches. Professional repair with a few small patches, the relief head appears complete and original. A superb Hellenistic Greek head of the finest style, the huge flowing mane of the lion especially impressive in the manner in which it frames the strong but sensitive countenance of Alexander. Museum quality.

Interestingly is this

A FINE GREEK BLACK GLAZED OLPE, c. 4th century BC. The single handled cup of elegant form with fluted body and wide rim and double strap handle, the body with a fine black glaze. 3.4 inches. Nice example.

Price $1,850 or £1,400

This is mine, 4th cent. BC from Magna Graecia (the cup was about the same price) which I bought a few years ago for £135! Inflation or extortion?


(The rings are Colin Farrell and Anthony Hopkins' props from the movie.)

[hiphys]

Very interesting collection. The most peculiar piece is, IMHO, the first one, the so-called Alexander on horse. Its oddity lies in its curious hair style: at first glance I thought he represented a bald man, now I believe he wore an helmet (lost, or only made of a lost colour over a plaster). The other pieces are more common, I think: perhaps the lamp represents a Herakles, not Alexander. As to the prices, it is very hard to estasblish the right one. Think what happens at auction sales!
Thanks for sharing.

[Xenophon]

The first item - the sculptured horseman - is very obviously NOT meant to depict Alexander,since Macedonian cavalry in Alexander's day did not deploy shields on horseback. In addition the statuette shows none of the atributes of Alexander.

In fact this type of statuette is a familiar one of an Italian 'Tarentine' horseman, and this pose of a nude shielded horseman is frequently found on Tarentine coins 380-345 BC as well, and also later coins and statuettes......(see below)

The claim that it depicts Alexander is clearly advertising puff by the seller in hopes of increasing the sale price.....

[hiphys]

Perhaps you are right, the horseman statuette isn't Alexander, but there are examples of interference in the later portraits of Alexander (e.g. the so-called Capitolium Alexander: he is represented as Helios, clearly not a contemporary identification). All his Italic representations, as the Alexander/Apollo of the Scasato, are the results of an interference of two or three artistic traditions and patterns.

[Alexias]

Yes, the horseman in the statute could be anyone. But who is the horseman on the coins? Any particular god or hero?

[Xenophon]

Yes, the horseman in the statute could be anyone. But who is the horseman on the coins? Any particular god or hero?

Unknown I'm afraid - they could be generic, simply representational of Tarentum's famous cavalry, a form of advertising! Still, the origin may be some local God or Hero, otherwise unknown.Such horsemen were a very common theme in Tarentine art, appearing on statuettes like the one shown and friezes as well as coins.

[delos13]

It is not necessarily that the modern seller wants to make some additional money representing the piece as depicting Alexander. It's quite possible that the original buyer,

American diplomat stationed in Italy in the early part of the 20th century

was duped himself.

[system1988]

Thank you Alexias very much for sharing.

A war is being carried out globally concerning the selling of fake antiquties. Victims to that war are not only ordinary citizens but also museums, some of great importance, which spend millions of dollars/euros in order to obtain such "antiquities".In recent years, a German archaeologist, Prof. Stephan Lehmann, proved that a bronze head of Augustus was a fake. In order to prove it however, the simple labs were not enough and so he took the head to a highly specialized laboratory in Swistzerland where in the inside of the head, "holes" were discovered that should not have been there. Dr. Lehmann is also suspicious about an Alexander head that is in display as we speak in a european museum. As far as items made out of clay, perhaps only a chemical test of the composition of the clay and the paint is neccessary in order to determine the truth. Nevertheless, even with one's bear eye -and of course a little experience in this area, the profile of the handles can be seen to be fake.

But let's not underestimate the joy that such objects give to their owners in any case.

[Alexias]

Nevertheless, even with one's bear eye -and of course a little experience in this area, the profile of the handles can be seen to be fake.

The photograph of my little jug may be misleading you: it isn't that shape, it is the same as the other photograph. The links below show olpes from the University of Oxford's Classical Art Research centre http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk -similar to the olpe's shown above from Italy and with the same types of handle, not the high handle which seems to be more common in the Greek olpes.

displayImage.htm.jpg (74.07 KiB) Viewed 4433 times

displayImage2.htm.jpg (79.34 KiB) Viewed 4433 times

PS I bought both the cup and jug from a very reputable source that has been trading for 60 years.

[system1988]

The photograph of my little jug may be misleading you: it isn't that shape, it is the same as the other photograph.

Hi Alexias

Yes indeed I seem to have been misled.