Cleveland Museum of Art
Head of Herakles Refashioned as a Weight
- Date
- 300–200 BCE
- Medium
- bronze filled with lead
- Culture
- Greece, Hellenistic period
- Department
- Greek and Roman Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Even without his club or lion skin, the short curly hair and full curly beard identify this miniature head as that of Herakles. The eyes and mouth were likely once inlaid. His upward gaze suggests the head may be based on the Herakles Epitrapezios by Lysippos, the personal sculptor of Alexander the Great. The original Herakles Epitrapezios survives only through copies, including this one as well as a slightly later marble version also in Cleveland (among many others). This head was refashioned into a weight, probably in the Roman period, by filling it with lead and adding holes for a hook. Romans filled their weights with lead because it was plentiful, cheap, and easy to shape.
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