3705 - Reception of Antiquity: Bust of Athena Lemnia

Reception of Antiquity: Bust of Athena Lemnia 19th century, unsigned, stucco, painted cream, a depiction of the head of the so-called Athena Lemnia with the upper torso partially visible, this unusual depiction of Athena, wearing a hairband rather than a diadem or helmet, was probably created around 450-440 BC by the sculptor Phidias and originally stood on the Acropolis; the bronze original has been lost, however, there is a Roman marble copy from the Augustan period (probably late 1st century BC to early 1st century AD), which is on display at the Museo Civico Archeologico in Bologna; a plaster cast of this later replica was combined in the 19th century by Adolf Furtwängler in Dresden, where it was combined with another torso of Athena to form the well-known ‘Athena Lemnia’ reconstruction, which is on display in the Dresden Art Collections, on a tall square plinth, slightly chipped, showing signs of age, H 62 cm. Source: Arachne Database, Arachne ID 1065496, University of Cambridge website, Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases Number 132.