Because bronze was often looted and corrodes easily, the majority of freestanding sculptures from this period have been lost. Some, however, including the charioteer, have been rediscovered in the 20th century. [1]
Although the Charioteer is the last remaining bronze sculpture from Delphi, the figure exhibited a similar bluish appearance which after a century of indoor exposure turned greenish. The lower torso still preserves a bluish coloration [2]
"The bronze statue of a charioteer--a masterpiece of early Greek art in nearly perfect preservation--is one of the finds which have rewarded the French excavations at Delphi," wrote Edward T. Cook in 1903. "It was unearthed in 1896. . . . The statue seems to have been dedicated at Delphi to commemorate a victory in the games."[3]
His long Ionic chiton is arranged in perfectly simple folds curved on the body and arms, but falling perpendicularly from the girdle to his bare muscular feet, while the toes, drawn up, slightly indicate how he preserved his balance during his rapid course. His right arm is still entended as when he guided his fiery steed to victory, and his short hair, through confined by a fillet, curls delicately above his small ears, and strays softly down his cheeks, His eyes are composed of colored enamel.[4]
The race horses on each side of the chariot have seated boys. They are memorials of Olympic victories won by Hiero, the son of Deinomenes, who was tyrant of Syracuse after his brother Gelo. But the offerings were not sent by Hiero; it was Hiero's son, Deinomenes, who gave them to the god, Onatas the Aeginetan, who made the chariot, and Calamis, who made the horses on either side and the boys on them. [5]
- ^ "Western Sculpture". Britannica Acedemic. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
- ^ Franke Mircea, Walter A. Magda (Summer 2005). "Plutarch's Report on the Blue Patina of Bronze Statues at Delphi: A Scientific Explaination". Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. 44 (2): 103.
- ^ Cook, Edward T. A Popular Handbook to the Greek and Roman Antiques in the British Museum. London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd. p. 116-117.
- ^ Wherry, Albinia Lucy Cust. Greek Sculpture. p. 66.
- ^ Washburn, Oliver M. (1908). The Charioteer of Amphion at Delphi (2 ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 198-209.