figurine
- Museum number
- 2010,8042.31
- Description
-
A pipeclay figurine of Apollo, cast in a two-piece mould and luted together, complete except for the head, feet and pedestal. The god stands, semi-nude, the weight of his body resting on his left leg, his right leg crossed in front. His left arm is flexed to enable the hand to support the top of his kithara which rests on a high, slender, fluted column (cippus) with simply-moulded capital. His clearly-defined right arm rests at his side with the hand against the groin, holding an arrow-shaped plectrum between thumb and forefinger. The anatomy and musculature are carefully rendered, with prominent breasts, dimpled navel, lightly-protruding belly, understated genitals and the fingers of both hands depicted. The himation is draped over the left shoulder and covers the left side of the back, its rolled margin passing obliquely across the front and back of the body, leaving naked the torso, the right arm, right thigh, right buttock and the right side of the back. The heaviness of the garment, which extends to the feet, is apparent in the treatment of the intertwined and overlapping folds but still reveals the major underlying anatomy. The kithara is of a distinctive and unusual form. Its sound box is flat and smooth, with a lightly-convex outer edge. The prominently-depicted seven strings taper quite acutely downwards to give a distinctly triangular appearance to the instrument. The globular tuning pins on the pin block that secured the tops of the strings are also clearly shown, though two are concealed by the god’s fingers. The clay is hard and creamy-white and the surface smooth, though the front torso appears lightly eroded. Areas of paring and trimming of the surface before firing, especially at the luted sides and back, are visible; and tiny raised globules, the distinctive feature of production in gypsum-plaster moulds, are present in many places, and especially well-preserved in folds and hollows.
- Production date
- 100-200
- Dimensions
-
Height: 138.40 millimetres
-
Weight: 241.96 grammes
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Width: 76.30 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- Apollo figurines are not common in Roman Britain. Broadly similar moulded pipeclay examples made in Central Gaul have been found at Bedford and Hacheston, Suffolk (Blagg et al. 2004, 140-1, Pl. XIII, Fig. 100), but the Ashwell Apollo was not a product of Central Gaul. It is most closely paralleled by an example from Arentsburg, Netherlands: they are of identical form and size and it is likely that they are products of the same mould (van Boekel 1987, 257-8, no. 4). They are from the Rhine-Mosel manufactories, and as van Boekel attributes the Arentsburg example to the modeller Servandus from Cologne we can cautiously suggest the same origin for the Ashwell Apollo. It is likely that the missing pedestal would have been of cube shape and probably inscribed with Servandus’ name as were others of his figurines. Servandus is a common name so it is no more than coincidence that two of the Ashwell silver votive plaques to Dea Senuna were dedicated by a man of that name.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 2010
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 2010,8042.31
