The over life-size statue stands in the passageway leading to the room in which the much larger "Isches Kouros" is displayed (see previous page). The scale of this sculpture can be more easily appreciated by comparing it to the size of the chair, on which a museum guard usually sits.
The charming figure attracts far less attention than its colossal cousin, and at the time this photo was taken there was not even a label describing it, just the number "23" on its base.
It has been reconstructed from fragments, and the torso and legs are obviously coloured (or stained with age) in reddish hues. The badly damaged and worn head, on the other hand, is very white, which makes on wonder if it is original or whether it belongs to the rest of the figure at all. The features of the face seem very soft and rounded, almost chubby.
So far we have found no literature about this head, and all the photos of kouros statues (apart from the "Isches Kouros") found during excavations on Samos show headless figures. As there is no label, and it too high to get a closer look at, it is difficult to say much more about it with certainty. However, it appears that the head is a plaster cast, perhaps of the head of a kouros, also from Samos, now in the Istanbul Museum (see photos below).
Since writing the above, I have discovered that the fragments figure were found in the Heraion (Sanctuary of Hera), and that the head in Istanbul does belong to this kouros, but was previously believed to have come from Rhodes. The whole figure is thought to have been about 325 cm high and to have been made around 550-540 BC.
Samos Archaeological Museum
(Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Βαθέως Σάμου)
Opening times
Summer (1 April - 31 October):
Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-16:00.
Monday closed.
Winter (1 November - 30 April):
Tuesday-Sunday 08:00-15:00.
Monday closed.
Admission 3 Euro; reduced tickets 2 Euro.
Tel: +30 2273 027 469
Website: www.odysseus.culture.gr |
