Chryselephantine Apollo by Phidias found?

If this is what it purports to be, it must be one of the most important finds of all time:

The sensual lips, distinguished nose and strong chin of this ancient ivory god’s head, found in a London storeroom, could hold a secret to set the art world alight. It may have been carved by the greatest artist of antiquity, the genius who created the Parthenon, the immortal sculptor Phidias.

Historians believed that all 74 of the rare ivory and gold statues belonging to the Roman Empire vanished when Rome was sacked by Alaric, chief of the barbarian Visigoths, in AD 410. But this 22cm-high mask was dug up eight years ago by an Italian treasure hunter near a villa belonging to the family of the 1st-century Emperor, Claudius. It was smuggled out of the country and sold to a Munich-based dealer before coming into the possession of a British expert, Robin Symes, who stored it in a vault south of the Thames.

The head, believed to be the Greek sun god Apollo, was secretly handed over to the Italians in London last month after Mr Symes realised that it had been removed without permission. . .

As well as Apollo’s face, fragments of statue were also recovered: fingers, toes, an ear, some curls of hair. In antiquity it was the practice for exceptionally important statues to have ivory heads, hands and feet, with bodies of stone or wood covered in gold sheets.

The official unveiling is set for next week. Read the full article in the Times of London.

Posted by David on March 13, 2003 11:11 AM