Marble torso of a boy

1st–2nd century CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 164
Copy of a Greek bronze statue of the late 5th century B.C.

The torso belonged to a statue of a boy leaning on a pillar at his left side, his head bent pensively toward his raised shoulder. The delicacy of the forms and the introspective character of the pose led scholars in the past to suggest that the statue represented a mythological figure such as Narcissus or Hyacinthus, but the original bronze was probably erected to honor a victorious young athlete or as a funerary monument.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Marble torso of a boy
  • Period: Imperial
  • Date: 1st–2nd century CE
  • Culture: Roman
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: H.: 21 in. (53.4 cm)
  • Classification: Stone Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Howard C. Sherwood, 1957
  • Object Number: 57.60
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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