Anonymous Caryatid, left profile
Anonymous Caryatid, three-quarter back view from left
Anonymous Caryatid, three-quarter back view from right
Anonymous Caryatid, detail of right side of polos with processional figures
Anonymous Caryatid, detail of front of polos with processional figures
Anonymous Caryatid, three-quarter front view from left
| Collection: | Delphi Archaeological Museum |
| Title: | Anonymous Caryatid |
| Context: | From Delphi |
| Findspot: | Excavated at Delphi |
| Summary: | Head of caryatid with sculpted kalathos |
| Material: | Marble |
| Sculpture Type: | Architectural |
| Style: | High Archaic |
| Original or Copy: | Original |
| Date: | ca. 540 BC - ca. 530 BC |
| Dimensions: | H 0.66 m, H of kalathos 0.255 m |
| Scale: | Over life-size |
| Region: | Phocis |
| Period: | High Archaic |
Subject Description:
The head of the Anonymous Caryatid, also known as the ex-Knidian head, is so-called from its former attribution to the Knidian Treasury. It has since been recognized that the style of the head is more developed than that of the torsos usually associated with the treasury, or indeed of the treasury itself, which must have been dedicated before Knidos fell to the Persians ca. 540 BC. That it belongs to a caryatid is clear from the kalathos, carved in one piece with the head, upon which rested a capital. The front of the kalathos is decorated with figures in relief. Though they are badly eroded, one can still make out Apollo playing a lyre in the center, facing right. From both sides a procession of figures approach: from the left, four women, and from the right, three women and Hermes playing the syrinx.
The face of the caryatid is oval. The eyes, inset and now missing, are slanted, with the outer corners higher. The cheeks are pronounced, the impression emphasized by the degree to which the sculptor has carved into the head in the area around the mouth. The lobe of each ear is carved with a large disk, an earring into which a metal element was once inserted. The hair is elaborately arranged. Around the face two rows of deep waves are pierced with holes for the addition of separately carved curls. The front section of hair is set off from the back, held in place by a stephane pierced with holes for the attachment of ornaments. At the back the hair descends from the crown of the head in a series of flat tresses, crimped into wavelike form.
Form & Style:
The general impression of the head is one of great elaboration: the hair, the wealth of added ornament, the decoration of the kalathos. This might suggest an East Greek model, though her closest relatives are the slightly later caryatids from Siphnos, the korai from Delos and the kore head from Thasos. A connection with the Cycladic school is therefore equally strong.
Condition: Head only (nearly complete)
Condition Description:
Head broken at the neck (inv. 1203). Missing the chin, the end of the nose, and many chips from the surface of the face, the curls surrounding the forehead. The figural relief on the front of the kalathos is mostly destroyed. Surface battered and weathered.
Collection History:
Found in 1894 in a modern house in the village which overlay Delphi.
Sources Used:
Other Bibliography: