The following are the materials for fixing the period to which the
sculptures of Branchidae must be assigned. It is certain that none of
them are later than the destruction of the temple by the Persians,
and the latest of them (No. 16) appears a generation earlier than
the works associated with that period. On the other hand, there is no
reason to place the oldest before the early part of the sixth century
B.C. Thus these sculptures cover the period of (say) 580-520 B.C.
On epigraphic grounds, the date may be more closely defined. It is
believed that the older form for [Greek: ê Ê (TN: drawn as 2 vertical
boxes)] was changed to H (TN: Ê =Eta) shortly before 550 B.C. By this
criterion, Nos. 10, 17, belong to an older group, and No. 14 to a
later group. An inscribed base now in the British Museum with the name
of an artist, Terpsicles, also belongs to the older group (Roehl,
_I.G.A._, 484). It has been suggested that Chares of Teichioussa (No.
14) was one of the local tyrants who were established after the
destruction of the kingdom of Croesus (546 B.C.), and this agrees well
with the epigraphical evidence.
The statues of Branchidae are of interest because they exhibit the
process by which the grotesque coarseness of primitive work tends
towards the stiff and formal refinement that marks the later stage of
archaic art. The series in the British Museum breaks off before
the second stage has been completely attained, but it can be well
supplemented by a seated female figure from Miletus, now in the Louvre
(Rayet et Thomas, _Milet et le Golfe Latmique_, pl. 21).
The sculptures of the Sacred Way were discovered by Chandler in
1765 (_Antiqs. of Ionia_, 1st ed., I. p. 46; Chandler, _Travels in
Asia Minor_, 1775, p. 152). They were more accurately examined by
Gell, and the second _Dilettanti_ expedition in 1812 (_Antiqs. of
Ionia_, 2nd ed., 1821, Part I., p. 29, vignette, and ch. III.,
pl. 1; Müller, _Denkmaeler_, I., pl. 9, fig. 33). A more accurate
sketch was made by Ross (_Arch. Zeit._, 1850, pl. 13). Such of
the sculptures as could be found in 1858 were removed by Sir C.
Newton; Newton, II., p. 527. On the inscriptions see Kirchhoff,
_Studien_, 4th ed., pp. 19, 25.
[Sidenote: =7.=]
Female figure, seated on a chair, with her hand resting on her knees.
The head is wanting, and the upper part of the body is much mutilated.
The figure wears a long chiton, with sleeves, and a diploïdion.
The feet of this figure (as of all the other figures) are bare. The
drapery falls down in front of the legs in stiff conventional folds.
The sleeve, however, of the chiton is worked in a more natural manner.
There are remains of a key-pattern on the sides of the cushion of the
chair.--_Sacred Way, Branchidae._
Parian marble; height, 3 feet 9 inches. Mansell, No. 607.
[Sidenote: =8.=]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account