While dining, Romans reclined on long, wooden benches or couches called klinai, which included a headrest, called a fulcra. The sides of the fulcra that were visible were frequently decorated with elaborate ornaments in bronze or even more precious materials. Mules and horses were common subjects for these ornaments, as were satyrs and maenads. All of these creatures have a mythological connection to Bacchus, the god of wine, and are therefore appropriate for a dinner party setting where much wine would be served. The mules here are among the finest such examples to survive, with intricate detail, expressive features, and elaborate silver inlay in the harness trappings and the eyes.

In ancient Greek myth, sirens were terrifying—birds with the head and bust of a beautiful human female that lured sailors to their death with their beautiful songs. Despite their threatening nature, these creatures were also associated with feminine beauty as well as truth and honesty. As such, sirens were common decorative attachments on ancient bronze mirrors. The surface of this mirror was originally highly polished to reflect the face of the beholder. A mirror very similar to this one was found in a tomb belonging to a wealthy woman, in the region of southern Italy, known as Magna Graecia, settled by Greek colonists. 

Birds with human heads, known as sirens in Greek mythology, were famous for their beautiful singing voices; their songs lured sailors off course, often with ruinous or even fatal consequences. This bronze siren originally adorned the handle of a large bronze water jar (a hydria), which is particularly appropriate due to the sirens’ connection with water. The jar may also have been used in funerary rituals or to contain an individual’s cremated ashes, as suggested by the sirens’ role as harbingers of impending doom and their association with death and funerals in ancient Greece. The details of the feathers and the sweep of the figure’s wings, as well as the lovely decorative floral tendrils which frame the figure, reveal the exquisite quality of the craftsmanship. 

While dining, Romans reclined on long, wooden benches or couches called klinai, which included a headrest, called a fulcra. The sides of the fulcra that were visible were frequently decorated with elaborate ornaments in bronze or even more precious materials. Mules and horses were common subjects for these ornaments, as were satyrs and maenads. All of these creatures have a mythological connection to Bacchus, the god of wine, and are therefore appropriate for a dinner party setting where much wine would be served. The mules here are among the finest such examples to survive, with intricate detail, expressive features, and elaborate silver inlay in the harness trappings and the eyes.

Many sculptures in the ancient world were “multimedia”, made from different materials that were combined to create the final work. This arm, of hollow-cast bronze, belonged to a female statue and was designed to attach to a torso made of another material such as marble. Holes for attaching the arm can be seen at its base just below where the elbow should be.  

Bronze was considered a more prestigious medium than terracotta, making this small figurine a precious gift. Cast from a mold made from an original prototype in wax or terracotta, this artifact depicts young woman standing with feet together and wearing a peplos, a rich outer robe gathered at the waist. This figurine is carefully detailed and was meant to be appreciated from all sides.  

Euripides describes Sirens as “winged maidens, daughters of Earth.” The Sirens were beautiful but lethal creatures who lured sailors to their deaths with their mesmerizing songs. The “siren song” is an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heard, leads to death. The Sirens sing that, “once the sailor hears to his heart’s content, he sails on, a wiser man.” Odysseus, the Greek hero, confronts this challenge in ingenuous form: By having his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and being tied to the mast, he was able to hear the song, escape death, and overcome the conundrum of the Sirens. 

With origins that trace back to human prehistory, masks were popularized by Phoenician craftsmen as early as the 7th century BCE and quickly became popular throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Masks, produced in variety of sizes and materials, served many functions in ancient societies. This satyr mask served as the ornamental holder for a bronze ring used to open a door. 

This statuette was inspired by a larger prototype that may have adorned the Temple of Poseidon at the Greek site of Isthmia. Though just a few centimeters high, it exhibits considerable attention to musculature as it relates to the stance on the body. The artist has emphasized certain areas of Poseidon’s body, such as his stomach and leg muscles, confidently displaying his knowledge of the human form. The figure’s stance, holding a trident (now missing), identifies him as the god Poseidon.  

Protomes were figural projections used to decorate ancient cauldrons that were given as prizes to victorious athletes and dedicated at Greek sanctuaries. Exotic and mythical beasts, such as lions, griffins, and sphinxes, were favorite subjects for protomes. Griffins, in particular, were introduced from Asia and suggested connections to a world beyond Greece.  

Large bronze vessels such as cauldrons and kraters held wine or cooked food and served as centerpieces at banquets and symposia in the Greek world. This figural attachment depicts a banqueter reclining on a dining couch during one of these festive events, as such, a fitting decoration for occasion

From Boeotia in central Greece, this small statuette of a bull was cast from solid bronze. Despite its small size, the bronze bull was considered a valued gift to the gods, and more particularly to the Kabeiroi, deities revered in Boeotia. This important connection between artifact and ancient cult practice is apparent by the dedication of the bull’s back, where inscribed in Greek is HIEROI KABEIROI, “the Sacred Kabeiroi.” The Kabeiroi were a group of divinities imported into Greece, possibly from Asia Minor or Thrace. Their rites were considered mysterious and were very popular in the northern Aegean, with an important sanctuary near Thebes in Boeotia. Bulls, both real and representational, were a prominent class of gift to the ancient gods.  

Satyrs, or fauns, were among the unruly followers of Dionysos (the Roman Bacchus). Artists of the Hellenistic period showed great interest in unusual characters from Greek mythology and delighted in portraying creatures that comprised both animal and human elements. The satyr’s animal skin drapery seems to sway as he moves, and his hair, woven through with grape leaves, is wild, echoing his bacchic dance. He is portrayed in motion, dancing joyfully. He prances, arms flung out, his face captured in a moment of mischievous glee. The sheer volume and energy of this figure urge the viewer to consider it from all angles. 

This small figurine of Apollo shows the god standing with his head turning slightly as he begins stepping forward with his right leg. He gestures with his outstretched right arm while holding a bow (now missing) in his left. The figurine’s pose and youth are important clues to identifying the god. This stance is reminiscent of the central statue of Apollo on the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. 

Bronze figurines and stone sculptures of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age are among the most important archaeological evidence found on the island of Sardinia. Yet, their meaning and chronology are not fully understood and continue to be debated. During archaeological excavations there, more than five hundred of these bronze statuettes have been discovered, mainly in religious contexts. Notwithstanding its elongated proportions, this figurine is recognizable as a male warrior in the act of offering. Sporting a necklace, pleated kilt, and decorated greaves (shin guards), the figure stares straight ahead with both arms outstretched. The hands (now missing) would have held offerings or weapons.

The figurine of Herakles wears sandals and a stippled lion-pelt cloak that drapes over one shoulder in the Etruscan style, leaving the right shoulder and arm bare. The hole, formed by the hero’s raised fist, once brandished his iconic club, now missing. The wax or terracotta model for this cast figurine is finely detailed front to back and intended to be appreciated from all sides. This example is recorded to have been found in a rural sanctuary near Pompeii.  

The pose and proportion of this statue recall male figures created during the late 5th or early 4th century BCE. At this time, Greek sculptors employed mathematical rules to achieve an ideal body type and rendered their subjects in more naturalistic poses. However, the use of supporting elements (the tree stump and a missing strut on the figure’s left) suggests that this statue is a later version, or copy, of an original work in bronze, a medium that would not need such structural additions. The Romans, in particular, are known for these renditions. The combination of a snake, which coils in and around the tree stump, with a male youth could indicate that the figure is a young Apollo whose victory over the serpent Pytho assured his preeminence at Delphi as Pythian Apollo. Still, a precise identification remains elusive.

Aphrodite, or Venus to the Romans, was one of the most widely worshipped of all Greek goddesses, and her popularity inspired many types of sculpted figures. Statues of Aphrodite proliferated during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. All were inspired to some degree by the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, the first major Greek work to show the goddess nude. The Bowdoin example takes inspiration from a bronze original and incorporates elements, disguised by drapery, that help support the pose, additions not needed in the original model executed in bronze.  

This portrait of the emperor Antoninus Pius was sculpted using highly prized marble from the Aegean island of Paros. The fine grain of the stone permits the rendering of intricate detail and can be highly polished. This sculptor used a “running drill”, an early mechanical carving tool, to shape the locks of hair and delineate the pupils of the eyes. Paint, traces of which are still visible, was added to highlight the hair and eyes to make the portrait appear more life-like. The carving would have been augmented by metal wreath or crown. Imagining the crown in place, the part of the head that would have been obscured by a wreath is less deeply carved than those visible portions. In addition, the curls at the nape of the neck provide a natural cleft for the base of the wreath.  

This statuette was designed to adorn a monument in the form of a prow of a warship (replicated here). Originally, the sculpture included elements that were crafted from bronze. Nike in her present conditions is missing her head, arms, and wings, which were added as separate pieces made of both marble and bronze. Still, the billowing drapery evokes Nike’s movement as she alights to announce a victory at sea.  

This plaque decorated the cornice of a building above the eaves and depicts a statue of a victorious athlete on a pedestal holding a frond. The pose of the athlete, with no visible struts supporting the arms, suggests that the sculptor of the terracotta plaque was depicting a bronze statue. Placed between columns, the plaque was part of a series that illustrated a colonnade, probably one surrounding of an athletic palaestra, or practice field, where prized dedications in bronze were displayed.  

Carefully weighed, bronze served as an important medium for standards of measure in the ancient world. This example of solid-cast bronze weighs approximately 430 grams corresponding to the Attic (Athenian) standard for one mina. The weight is decorated with the head of a bull and inscribed with the name and office of the authorizing magistrate: Menexenos. Originally, a Near Eastern unit of weight, the mina was adopted by the Greeks for both a weight standard and a unit of currency.  

The goddess is striding, facing forward with her left foot placed in front of her right foot. Neith holds her right arm down against her side while reaching out, arm crooked, with her left. She would have originally held an ankh, an amuletic symbol of life commonly used in Ancient Egypt, or a bow or arrow in her fists, but these attributes are now missing. Although her body has volume and can be examined in the round, the stance of the figure intends a frontal perspective. 

Horses were among the earliest subjects explored by Greek artists and remained the most commonly depicted animal in vase painting and sculpture. Artists admired them as symbols of wealth, power, and prestige but also understood their role as treasured companions of humans, heroes, and the gods. Representations of horses created during the Geometric period of the 8th century BCE document the connection between painting and sculpture. Early sculptures of horses, in profile, mimic closely the painted silhouettes of the animals as if the artist had pulled the form into a three-dimensional shape.