51714-Terracota-Army

Terracotta Army is located in China

The museum complex containing the excavation sites

Two of the "Acrobats" from pit K9901.[46]

A bronze helmet unearthed from the site

Terracotta Army from the Western Han Yangjiawan tomb.

Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, buried in 210–209 BCE to protect him in the afterlife.

The Liquid Metal Map Under the Mound

Historian Sima Qian recorded that the first emperor was buried amidst wondrous palaces and 100 flowing rivers simulated using mercury. Early commentators often dismissed these subterranean rivers and celestial ceiling decorations as credulous legends. However, modern soil tests across the tomb mound detected high levels of mercury, providing tangible scientific evidence that gave credence to Sima Qian's ancient historical account.

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Sphinx with the third pyramid

Great Sphinx of Giza is located in Egypt

Hogenberg and Braun (map), Cairus, quae olim Babylon (1572), exists in various editions, from various authors, with the Sphinx looking different.

The Great Sphinx partially excavated, ca. 1883

Trap-door access to major fissure, after restorations

Description de l'Egypte, Planches, Antiquités, volume V (1823)

Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx located on the Giza Plateau in Egypt. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Wind-Sculpted Bedrock Yardang as the Head

The monument's iconic form may have begun as a natural geological accident rather than an intentional carving from scratch. Geologist Farouk El-Baz suggested the head was carved from a yardang, a wind-sculpted ridge of bedrock that naturally resembled an animal. Quarrymen excavated the surrounding ditch later to carve the rest of the body. They then repurposed the quarried limestone blocks to build a temple directly in front of the statue.

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Laocoön and his sons group

Oblique view

The group as it was between c. 1540 and 1957, with Laocoön's extended arm; the sons' restored arms were removed in the 1980s

Head of the older son, Antiphantes

A maiolica rendering, Urbino, c. 1530–1545; note the absent plinth seat

A replica in Ibirapuera Park, Brazil

Laocoön and His Sons

The statue of Laocoön and His Sons is a famous ancient sculpture excavated in Rome in 1506 and on display in the Vatican Museums.

Anatomical Impossibility and Agony Without Redemption

Unlike traditional Christian depictions of martyrdom and the Passion of Jesus, the sculpture portrays intense torment offering no spiritual reward or redemption. The emotional horror is concentrated in the priest's facial strain, particularly his bulging eyebrows. Neurologist Guillaume Duchenne de Boulogne identified these exaggerated muscular contortions as physiologically impossible in real human anatomy, showing how expressive power superseded anatomical reality.

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A marble sculpture of the Roman Emperor Augustus. He is pointing up and away from his body with his right hand. He is wearing an intricately carved breastplate depicting his diplomatic skills. At his right foot is a cherub riding a dolphin, a symbol of his family's relationship to the goddess Venus.

Version of the statue in 1870 with a staff in his left hand

Unpainted and painted replica of the statue (part of the Gods in Colour exhibition)

Detail of the breastplate

A close-up view of the breastplate on the statue, showing a Parthian man returning to Augustus the legionary standards lost by Marcus Licinius Crassus at Carrhae

Lithograph depicting the discovery of the statue, published in 1865

Augustus of Prima Porta

The Augustus of Prima Porta is a full-length portrait statue of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, discovered in 1863 at the Villa of Livia in Prima Porta.

Unshod Feet on a Clothed Commander

Augustus appears fully garbed in the ornate armor of an imperial commander, yet he stands completely barefoot. In classical iconography, bare feet were reserved strictly for representations of heroes and deities. At his right ankle, a small Cupid riding a dolphin reinforces this superhuman status by emphasizing the lineage Augustus claimed from the goddess Venus through his adopted father Julius Caesar.

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Nofretete Neues Museum

A "house altar" (c. 1350 BC) depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters. Nefertiti is shown wearing a crown similar to that depicted on the bust.

Right profile and front

Left profile and back

Neues Museum, Berlin is the present location of the Nefertiti bust

Nefertiti bust in the North Dome Room of the Neues Museum, at the climax of the recommended tour

Nefertiti Bust

The Nefertiti Bust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, Great Royal Wife of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by Thutmose.

Subterranean Wrinkles Beneath Smooth Stucco

Beneath the smooth stucco of Nefertiti's face lies an older, altered portrait. A 2006 CT scan led by Alexander Huppertz revealed that the inner core contains a wrinkled face. The scan demonstrated that Thutmose applied layers of varying thickness over this core to modify the features. These concealed corrections indicate how the sculptor adjusted the underlying likeness to align with royal aesthetic ideals.

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Lupa Capitolina, Rome

The sculpture in Musei Capitolini

Capitoline Wolf in Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton, New Zealand

Capitoline she-wolf - Eden Park, Cincinnati - DSC03903.JPG

Capitoline she-wolf in Eden Park, Cincinnati, Ohio

Capitoline Wolf at Siena Duomo. According to a legend Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus. When they fled Rome, they took the statue of the She-wolf to Siena, which became the symbol of the town.

In Rome, Georgia, US

Capitoline Wolf

The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze sculpture depicting a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the mythical twin founders of Rome.

Mistaking a Foundry Flaw for an Ancient Lightning Strike

For generations, scholars believed paw damage on the wolf matched Cicero's description of a statue struck by lightning in 65 BC. In 1854, August Emil Braun challenged this assumption by suggesting the damage was simply an error during casting. Restorer Anna Maria Carruba subsequently reaffirmed that the missing metal resulted from a defect in the moulding process rather than a thunderbolt.

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The Dying Gaul on display at the Capitoline Museums

Back of the sculpture.

Detail showing the face, hairstyle and torc of the sculpture

Detail showing his neck torc.

Sideview of the dying trumpeter

Engraving by François Perrier of the Dying Gladiator statue in the Capitoline Museums of Rome

Dying Gaul

The Dying Gaul is an ancient Roman marble semi-recumbent statue in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, copied from a lost Hellenistic Greek sculpture thought to have been made in bronze.

The Misunderstood Arena Combatant

For centuries, viewers assumed the sculpture portrayed a fallen arena fighter known as The Dying Gladiator. Ennio Quirino Visconti challenged this long-held perception by re-examining the figure's ethnic attributes. He identified the subject as a "barbarian" after analyzing specific physical markers, including a neck torc, matted hair, bushy moustache, distinctive eyebrows, and a wide nose.

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Roman bronze reproduction of Myron's Discobolus, 2nd century AD (Glyptothek, Munich)

The discobolus motif on an Attic red-figured cup, c. 490 BC, is static by comparison.

Roman discus thrower from Stabiae, Villa Arianna, 1st century AD

A Discobolus in the National Roman Museum in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.

Museo Nazionale Romano banner

Discobolus

The Discobolus by Myron is an ancient Greek sculpture completed around 460–450 BC that depicts an athlete throwing a discus.

Kalokagathia and the Moral Value of Athletic Form

The sculpture reflects a broader philosophical doctrine rather than a simple celebration of competitive sports. In ancient Greece, athletic contests were deeply intertwined with religious and civic life, celebrating the concept of kalokagathia. This ideal held that physical prowess and bodily symmetry were essential components of a virtuous mind and life. Myron's athlete serves as a visual manifestation of this harmonious unity between spiritual virtue and physical excellence.

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Reggio calabria museo nazionale bronzi di riace

Statue A, possibly Tydeus. Height (without base): 1.98 m (6 ft 6 inches)[3]

LEFT: Statue B. Height (without base): 1.99 m (6 ft 6 1/3 inches)[8] RIGHT: The left sides of the statues.

Head of Statue A

Reconstructions of the Riace bronzes by Frankfurt Liebieghaus Polychromy Research Project (Brinkmann & Koch-Brinkmann)

An artistic imagining of what the original models may have looked like

Riace bronzes

The Riace bronzes, also called the Riace Warriors, are two full-size Greek bronze statues of bearded warriors, cast about 460–450 BC, that were found in the sea in 1972 near Riace, Italy.

A Macabre Optical Illusion Beneath the Shallows

When Rome chemist Stefano Mariottini snorkeled roughly 200 metres off the coast of Riace at a depth of six to eight metres, he spotted the left arm of Statue A protruding from the seabed. Mariottini initially panicked, fearing he had stumbled upon a drowned human corpse. Touching the submerged limb revealed the cold surface of metal, leading him to uncover a second figure and alert regional cultural authorities.

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The Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Museum

Charioteer of Delphi, head

Detail of the statue's head, showing the inlaid eyes

Fragments and drawing of Charioteer

Detail of the statue's head and arm

Back view of the Charioteer.

Charioteer of Delphi

The Charioteer of Delphi is an ancient Greek bronze statue dating to around 470 BC, depicting a life-size chariot driver dedicated at the Sanctuary of Apollo to commemorate a victory in the Pythian Games.

Catastrophic Burial as Accidental Preservation

Most ancient bronzes were melted down or corroded over time, but the Charioteer survived intact because an earthquake debris fall buried it at Delphi. The catastrophic rock-fall destroyed the sanctuary in 373 B.C., sealing the bronze safely underground until archaeological excavations uncovered it in 1896. This accidental burial preserved a rare Greek masterpiece that otherwise would have been lost.

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