Roman Marble


	established 1942


	ROMAN LIMESTONE OVER LIFE-SIZE STATUE OF ANTINOUS Companion of the emperor Hadrian, as a hunter. Nude but for the cloak over his left shoulder and arm, clasped on his right shoulder. He has the characteristic muscular development, boyish face, and masses of curls which are, in this sculpture, bound with a diadem. Magnificent sculpture of fine grain indurated limestone. The only statue of Antinous in private hands. This sculpture was found in the sea. Obviously, the head and torso were embedded in the bottom but the legs were exposed to the water with some resultant degradation. Published: Le Monde, Paris, April 13, 1979. Ex collection of Jacques Mougin, France. Ca. 130-138 AD H. 59 7/8 in. (152 cm.) Art of the Ancient World, 2007, no. 13 CBT01 SOLD
Antinous was born in the town of Bithynion-Claudiopolis, in the Greek province of Bithynia on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. His birth was definitely in November and most probably on the 27th. The year of his birth is not known, but at the time of his death in AD 132, he was described as ephebe and meirkakion, two words meant to convey a boy in his late teens or a young man of around twenty. From this we can postulate that Antinous was born in either AD 110, AD 111, or AD 112. His parentage is unknown, as no details of his family have remained extant. It is thought that his parents may have originally been mentioned in the epitaph on the obelisk that Hadrian erected for the boy after his death, but the section where such mention is thought to have been contained is agonizingly chipped off the stone. Little is known as to how Antinous came to be in the house of Hadrian. It is thought that he was taken to Rome as a page and perhaps entered into the imperial paedagogium, which was a polishing school designed to train the boys to become palace or civil servants. It is impossible to say exactly when Hadrian became enamored of Antinous, but it is thought to have been sometime between the Emperor's return to Italy in AD 125 and his next trip to Greece in AD 128, on which tour Antinous accompanied him as a favorite. He was accounted beautiful by all that beheld him, was said to have great intelligence and a sharp wit, and was a great hunter and athlete. Hadrian was a man who took much pleasure in art. His villa was filled with pieces collected on his travels, and would surely have been pleased by the appearance of Antinous, who even in life is said must have resembled the statues of beauty for which he is still known. One of Hadrian's well-publicized passions was for the hunt. It is well known that under the guidance of his wife Plotina, Hadrian had become well learned and developed an appreciation for intelligent conversation such as Antinous could be expected to provide. And, of course, Antinous was a Greek. In October of AD 130 while traveling the Nile with the Emperor and his court, Antinous fell into the swollen river which was in flood stage, and was drowned. Whether he intentionally sacrificed himself to save the emperor from a malevolent prophesy or by accident, Hadrian was utterly distraught. It is unclear as to who first proclaimed the deity of Antinous. Emperor Hadrian was grief stricken by the death of his favorite to the point that many contemporaries wondered if he was still able to do his job properly. It was not uncommon for the admirers of youth prematurely deceased to make a great show of despair. Hadrian had not only lost his beloved but most likely felt deep guilt for the death, whether it was suicide, sacrifice, or a simple accident. The problem was that as Emperor, Hadrian was expected to be able to separate his private grief from his public self, which he seemed to have great difficulty doing. A new star was discovered promptly after Antinous's death and given his name in the theory that it was his soul shining down on Earth. A certain bright red flower was quickly renamed Antinoeios, wreaths of which would be given to winners in the competitions held in Antinous's name. A poet named Pancrates wrote a homeric epic about the last lion hunt Antinous participated in, during which Hadrian had to intercede to save the boy's life. Hadrian was to remain in mourning for the next eight years, ending the period only with his death. He built a pool called the Canopus as a shrine to his friend and was surrounded by sculptures of him as a god. He dedicated numerous temples to the new deity throughout the Empire as well as the Antinous's largest monument, the Nile city of Antinioopolis which had a processional avenue lined with hundreds of monumental statues of Antinous, most of which were destroyed by Arab farmers in the 10th century when they were burned to extract the lime from the stone. What little that was left was pulverized in the 19th century to build a bridge. In February of AD 138 the aging emperor named his heir, Antoninus Pius, and withdrew to his villa at Tivoli. Finally, on the 10th of July AD 138, he took vast amounts of medications to force an overdose and died at the age of sixty-two after nearly twenty one years of rule -- one of the most capable and talented men the empire ever produced. For similar statue of Antinous wearing this cloak, see Athens, National Archeological Museum, inv. no. 518. http://www.antinoos.info/antinous.htm

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