Statue of Apollo

A slightly smaller than lifesize statue of Apollo, striding forward with his left leg. The pose of the legs and the figure's frontality give the statuette an Archaic look, similar to the Greek kouroi or the early classical successors of the Kritias Boy. Other features are later than the Archaic period: the subtle torsion of the shoulders, breasts and hips which give the statuette an animated look. The arms deviate from each other and thus break away from the archaic kouros tradiyion. The left arm hangs close to the torso and is bent at the elbow in the standard kouros mode while the right opens out more widely to the side and rests on the strut. The left hand probably grasped something that is currently missing. The typical attributes of the Apollo such as the bow, arrow or the laurel are all rendered in relief on the strut. Bartman proposed a quiver strap, a bunch of arrows or a laurel branch,plucked from the tree. The statue has lost much of its original surface and had to be fixed with plaster filling at its front. However the treatment of the muscles is ancient, the body has the physique of a youthful Apollo with a slender waist and elongated legs. The torso is solid and evokes early classical iconography. The head however is in a different style. It sits on a long neck and has a square-oval face with thick regular curls that sweep off the face to tuck under a fillet. Behind the ears the locks are longer and hang as a single mass onto the nape of the neck, loop up and tuck under the fillet and fold over to descend once again, the overall movement being a zig zag one. The forehead is broad and offest by the elongated lower face, the eyes are long and almond shaped under a low brow, their expression is one of concentration and dominates the face with the lightly chiselled iris and pupil. The nose is strong and the mouth is slightly open. Ashmole proposed that the iris and pupil were modern but Bartman viewed them both asancient features. The geometry, regularity and naturalism of the face suggest Greek high classical period. and according to Bartman of the severising early classical period.