The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Vessel Ornament of Reclining Pipes Player

Vessel Ornament of Reclining Pipes Player

probably 400–375 BCE
bronze
Overall: 5.1 cm (2 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Ernest Brummer 1986.184
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Guests were often invited to play instruments and sing during symposia.

Description

This bronze banqueter figurine was one of six once adorning the rim of a large basin, now lost. Cast in molds with individualized details, most have grooves on their underside to attach to the basin. Minute traces of gilding remain on areas of clothing and skin (mostly visible only under magnification), suggesting that they may have been completely gilded. Two handles in the form of hippocampi, horses with serpentine tails, also belonged to the basin and are now displayed at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. The basin may have been used to hold liquid for a banquet, or was perhaps funerary.

This bronze reclining figurine raises his head and blows into a set of pipes. The tips of the pipes are broken off. Some gilding remains on the mouth and chin. The figurine wears a himation over his body and has a bare chest. Two pillows prop up his left elbow. His hair falls over his forehead in square bangs.
  • ?-1908
    Collection of the Marchese di Riofreddo e Gagliardi
    ?-1943
    William R. Hearst, sold to Brummer Gallery
    1943-1949
    Brummer Gallery, New York, NY, sold to H.K. Monif
    1949-?
    H.K. Montif
    ?-1986
    Ella Bache Brummer, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1986-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Casa di Vendite Jandolo et Tavazzi (Rom). Catalogo delle pregevoli collezioni di oggetti d'arte e mobili antichi, spettanti al Signor Marchese di Rioffreddo ed ai Signori Gagliardi di Firenze. [1], [1]. 1908. No. 517
    The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N5415 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
    Galerie Koller Zürich. The Ernest Brummer Collection, Vol I: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art. 1979. No. 547E, cat: 95-97
    Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1986." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (1987): 38-79. Cat No. 16 www.jstor.org
  • Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=Vessel Ornament of Reclining Pipes Player|url=false|author=|year=probably 400–375 BCE|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.184