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Unidentified Roman sculptor, Statue of a poet, possibly Menander (Roman copy of lost Greek original)
Unidentified Roman sculptor, Statue of a poet, possibly Menander (Roman copy of lost Greek original)
Unidentified Roman sculptor, Statue of a poet, possibly Menander (Roman copy of lost Greek original)

Statue of a poet, possibly Menander (Roman copy of lost Greek original)

After Unidentified Roman sculptor

RA Collection: Art

This cast is of a Roman version of a Greek bronze dating from the 3rd century B.C. (coll. Vatican Museums, Rome). The bronze was found between 1585-1590 on the Viminal, near S. Lorenzo in Panisperna, along with a statue of the poet Poseidippus (ca. 316- ca. 250 BC).

It is often said that the staute depicts the Greek poet Menander, a prolific writer of the “New Comedy”. Having produced his first comedy Orge in 321 BC he went on to write over a hundred others, the majority of which or either lost or exist as fragments. This cast is depicted in George Scharf's watercolour 'Entrance Hall of the Royal Academy, Somerset House' (1836; coll. British Museum).

Object details

Title
Statue of a poet, possibly Menander (Roman copy of lost Greek original)
Artist/designer
From
Vatican Museums, Rome
Object type
Sculpture Cast
Medium
Plaster cast, early 19th century
Dimensions

1620 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
03/5004
Acquisition
Given by The Prince Regent 1816
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