Artwork Page for Head of Herakles Refashioned as a Weight

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Head of Herakles Refashioned as a Weight

300–200 BCE

Greece, Hellenistic period

Medium
bronze filled with lead
Measurements
Overall: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1971.71
Public Domain
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Location
102C Greek
Print
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Did You Know?

Romans filled their weights with lead because it was plentiful, cheap, and easy to shape.

Description

Even without his club or lion skin, the short curly hair and full curly beard identify this miniature head as that of Herakles. The eyes and mouth were likely once inlaid. His upward gaze suggests the head may be based on the Herakles Epitrapezios by Lysippos, the personal sculptor of Alexander the Great. The original Herakles Epitrapezios survives only through copies, including this one as well as a slightly later marble version also in Cleveland (among many others). This head was refashioned into a weight, probably in the Roman period, by filling it with lead and adding holes for a hook.

Head of Herakles Refashioned as a Weight

300–200 BCE

Greece, Hellenistic period

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