1960.504: Ithyphallic Herm of a Beardless Youth

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1960.504

Title

Ithyphallic Herm of a Beardless Youth

Classification

Sculpture

Work Type

sculpture

Date

3rd century BCE or later

Period

Roman period

Culture

Roman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/290893

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Terracotta

Technique

Mold-made

Dimensions

40 × 9 × 6 cm (15 3/4 × 3 9/16 × 2 3/8 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson

Accession Year

1960

Object Number

1960.504

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Mostly complete statuette. Large chip off crown; mended at the base.

Ithyphallic herm with the head of a beardless youth wearing a broad-brimmed hat or radiating crown. Brim circles all the way around the head, with a pattern of dotted diamonds at front, and lines that fan out at back. Short, straight hair framing an oval face, tucked behind visible ears. Large, almond-shaped eyes with lids and pupils rendered in relief. Straight nose; plump, closed mouth. Long neck with ribbons or long locks of hair falling at the sides and onto the body, which is a simple pillar with square bosses for arms. He wears a traveling cloak with a soft cowl at the neck, and round pin or ornament at the right shoulder. The cloak falls with plastic, vertical folds along the “upper body” at front, and with incised, horizontal folds at the back. A small erect phallus and scrotum are left exposed below a wide triangle of pubic hair indicated by depressed dots. He stands on a high plain base with simple molding at the top. A young Hermes with chlamys and petasus?

Grafitto incised at the back of the base. Perhaps a signature or monogram associated with a workshop. Greek letters of different sizes arranged in a compact formation. From left to right, and large to small: an uppercase, broken bar alpha, and an uppercase tau, both on a horizontal line. A small omicron just above the alpha. Two more marks above the tau: shallow incision, could be two more letters, perhaps two lowercase deltas, or a delta and a chi? To the right of the tau, what appears to be a lunate sigma.

Would have been painted originally, now only traces of white ground extant.

Hollow with and open bottom; heavy. Join seams visible on interior. Large circular venthole at back, at the height of the arms.

Light pinkish yellow clay, very slightly micaceous.

Commentary

Generally speaking, herms were simple anthropomorphic pillars that served as boundary markers. Their carved heads can often be identified with the god Hermes, though other gods (and even notable mortals) were also represented. Herms were also thought to be protective (boundaries tend to be dangerous places after all); a small version such as this example would have likely served an apotropaic purpose.

Part of what makes herms "work" is that they always have worked. Because of this, they tend to look similar regardless of when they were made or what the prevalent artistic styles were at the time. This can make small terracotta herms, especially, difficult to date. Our example is signed, and that might offer some clues: broken bar alphas begin to be used in the Hellenistic period, but appear later as well. If the letter to the right of the tau is a lunate sigma, that would date the figurine to the Roman period. The amount of incised detail would seem to corroborate a later date.

Exhibition History

• The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961

Verification Level