Persephone
WB.2.a
100 BC–1 BC •
Bronze •
medallion
Curator's Description
Bronze circular medallion; head of Persephone in high relief, cast and chased with hole for missing pendant ribbed ring below for use as handle; head with long tress on each shoulder; on the head a wreath and lotus flower head-dress.
This object was collected and bequeathed to the British Museum by Ferdinand Anselm Rothschild.
How big is it?
11 cm wide, 11 cm high, 5.4 cm deep, and it weighs 565g
Detailed Curatorial Notes
Provenance: None is recorded.
Commentary: The medallions were formerly described as litter handles, however the heads have now been re-attributed since the original British Museum catalogue and it is thought more likely that the handles are for something other than a litter, as the handles do not sit in a position which would make this practical. The deities depicted and the findspot near a cemetery suggest that the handles more likely belonged to a piece of funerary furniture such as a chest.
Bibliography
- Charles Hercules Read, 'The Waddesdon Bequest: Catalogue of the Works of Art bequeathed to the British Museum by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, M.P., 1898', London, 1902, no. 2
- O.M. Dalton, 'The Waddesdon Bequest', 2nd edn (rev), British Museum, London, 1927, no.2
- H. Tait, 'The Waddesdon Bequest', British Museum, London, 1981, p.13 and figs. 3-4
- L. Summerer, 'Vier Hellenistische Bronzen Aus Amisos', in Archäologischer Anzeiger, 1998, pp.401-14.
- Read 1902: Read, Charles Hercules, The Waddesdon Bequest. Catalogue of the Works of Art Bequeathed to the British Museum by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, M.P., 1898, London, BMP, 1902
- Dalton 1927: Dalton, Ormonde Maddock, The Waddesdon Bequest : jewels, plate, and other works of art bequeathed by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild., London, BMP, 1927