Ram

Label

Metalwork—crafting objects in gold, silver, bronze, lead, and other metals—was common throughout the ancient world, but few examples survive into the present day of the scale and skill of this hollow-cast bronze ram. In part, that is because metal maintains its monetary value even when crafted into artistic works, and metal objects can easily be melted down again to create coins, weapons, or new artworks.

While scholars know that smaller, solid animal statues were used as offerings in temples throughout ancient Greece and Rome, this example was unusual enough to inspire a closer, scientific investigation of its origins. Through metallurgical analyses (the scientific study of metals), researchers confirmed that the sculpture is 1,400 to 2,200 years old. They also found that the bronze contains traces of arsenic and bismuth, which is unusual for Roman bronzes made on the Italian peninsula. It is possible that this large ram was made of recycled bronze, maybe from smaller offerings that were combined into a single impressive donation.

From the 2024 exhibition Ancient Narratives: A New Look at Old Art, curated by Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2020

ITAL 3.01, Introductory Italian 3, Damiano Benvegnu, Winter 2020

SART 17.08, Digital Drawing, Karol Kawiaka, Fall 2020

SART 16.01, Sculpture I, Matt Seigle, Winter 2022

SART 16, Sculpture I, Matt Seigle, Spring 2022

COCO 26.01, What's in Your Toolbox?, Heidi Denzel and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2022

COCO 26.01, What's in Your Toolbox?, Heidi Denzel and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2022

Studio Art 16.01, Sculpture I, Matt Siegle, Winter 2023

Studio Art 16.02, Sculpture I, Matt Siegle, Winter 2023

Anthropology 3.01, Introduction to Anthropology, Charis Ford Morrison Boke, Summer 2023

Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Floriana Ciniglia, Winter 2024

Religion 4.01, Jewish Studies 4.01, Religion of Israel: Hebrew Bible, Susan Ackerman, Winter 2024

Studio Art 16.01, Sculpture I, Matt Siegle, Winter 2024

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Spring 2024

Geography 21.01, International Studies 18.01, Global Health and Society, Anne Sosin, Spring 2024

Classical Studies 12.02, Greek and Roman Engineering and Technology, Margaretha Kramer, Spring 2024

Exhibition History

2000 Years of Sculpture, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, 1977, no. 6.

Ancient and Premodern Global Cultures, Gene Y. Kim Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019.

Gene Y. Kim, Class of 1985, Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 9, 2002-January 29, 2004.

Gene Y. Kim, Class of 1985, Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 14-June 6, 2008.

Gene Y. Kim, Class of 1985, Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 3, 2004-July 6, 2007.

Gene Y. Kim, Class of 1985, Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 26, 2010.

Global Cultures at the Hood: Ancient to Premodern, Gene Y. Kim Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26. 2019.

Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida, May 12, 2016-June 30, 2018.

The Beauty of the Bronze: Selections from the Hood Museum of Art, Gene Y. Kim Class of 1985 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 13, 2012-March 18, 2014.

Publication History

Important European Sculpture and Works of Art, Christie's, London, April 20, 1988, p. 12, lot 14. (not sold).

Provenance

Èdouard Larcade Collection Sale, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1951; sold to an unknown private collection, 1951; to Blumka Gallery, New York, New York, date unknown; sold to Mark Lansburgh, Jr. (1925-2013), 1969; to the Lansburgh family collection, date unknown; offered at Christie’s, “Important European Sculpture and Works of Art,” London, 20 April 1988, lot 14, unsold; given to present collection, 2000.

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