statue; pediment

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Object Type: statue; pediment
Museum number: 1816,0610.94
Title: Series: The Parthenon Sculptures
Description: Marble statue group from the East pediment of the Parthenon (East pediment E and F). The East pediment showed the miraculous birth of the goddess Athena from the head of her father Zeus. Many of the figures from the central scene are now fragmentary or entirely lost. East pediment E and F are two female figures seated on square seats or chests, perhaps made from a single piece of marble. They both wear a sleeveless chiton, E’s chiton is belted at the waist, seen at the back. A mantle is thrown over their lower limbs. The left figure rests her left arm affectionately on her companion's shoulder. On the back of these figures, where they would not be seen, the modelling of the drapery is shallower and the folds broader and less complex. Both heads and all four hands are missing and the feet are damaged. On the right wrist of the left figure, figure E, a dowel hole, marking the attachment point of a metal bracelet, can be seen. The right figure, F, wore metal fibulae on each shoulder. The statues are thought to represent Demeter and Persephone. Other suggested identifications are two Horae (Seasons).
Producer name
Cultures/periods
Production date: 438BC-432BC
Production place: Made in: Athens
Findspot: Excavated/Findspot: Parthenon
Materials
Bibliographic references: Sculpture / Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum (303.E); Smith 1892 / A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum (pp.108-110); Smith 1910 / The sculptures of the Parthenon (pp.10-11, pl.3); Brommer 1963 / Die Skulpturen der Parthenon-Giebel (pp.10-11, pl.32-38); Palagia 1993 / The pediments of the Parthenon (pp.20, 61, fig.37-39); Choremi-Spetsieri 2004 / The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Acropolis, British Museum, Louvre (pp.121, 123, 125, 127, fig.89)
Location: On display (G18)
Subjects: classical deity; time/seasons
Associated names: Representation of: Demeter/Ceres; Representation of: Persephone/Proserpina; Representation of: Hours/Seasons/Year (possibly)
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1816
Department: Greek and Roman
Registration number: 1816,0610.94
Conservation: Treatment: 22 May 1994; Treatment: 21 Jan 1994

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