Cornell University Library Digital Collections

Hen from frieze of Building F at Xanthos

Title:
Hen from frieze of Building F at Xanthos
Collection:
Cornell Cast Collection
Creator:
Unknown
Date:
ca. 189-1900
ca. 460-450 BCE
2009 (image)
Site:
Xanthos, Turkey (original)
Accession:
Sage no. 80|452
Original Culture:
Lycian
Original Style:
Greek Classical
Work Type:
casts (sculpture)
Materials/Techniques:
plaster cast (sculpture)|limestone sculpture in relief (original)
Subject:
Xanthos (Ancient city)
Hens
Image View Description:
from front
Image View Type:
overall
Extent:
40 (H) x 40 (max. W) x 4 (D) cm
Original Extent:
147 (W) cm (complete block)
Description:
This is a large fragment from the viewer's left side of a damaged cast of a block from the hens and roosters frieze from Building F at Xanthos, perhaps a cult building or a tomb. Preserved here is the tail, squared at the end, of a hen who leans forward to peck at the ground. This is a partial cast of the weathered, pitted original block, which is longer and includes a rooster that also faces right. The function of Building F is unknown, but it has been proposed that the building was used for cult instead of funerary purposes. The frieze of chickens and roosters is attributed to Building F and thought to have run along the base of the building. Blocks from the frieze were discovered reused in a late antique wall on the acropolis at Xanthos.
Condition:
Large fragment
right side of block broken away
drill hole at top
Relation:
Belongs with ID no. 113.
Bibliography:
Ian Jenkins, Greek Architecture and its Sculpture (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), 168-174
John Boardman, Greek Sculpture: The Late Classical Period and Sculpture in Colonies and Overseas (London: Thames and Hudson, 1995), 188-190
Antony G. Keen, "The dynastic tombs of Xanthos--who was buried where?" Anatolian Studies 42 (1992), 53-63
Repository:
Cornell University (current)
London, British Museum (original)
Repository Location:
Warehouse
Collecting Program:
Cornell Collections of Antiquities
Rights:
The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use.  The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.
Disclaimer:
Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.

About the collection

Cornell University once owned a collection of plaster casts of sculptures, gemstones and inscriptions from different cultures and periods such as the ancient Near East, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome (the majority), the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the 19th century. In addition, architectural models and details of architectural sculpture from the above-mentioned periods formed part of the collection together with more abstract drawing models for art students. This collection must have comprised about 2000 pieces (ca. 1000 being reproductions of gemstones), only a part of which has survived, often in very bad condition and distributed all over campus. The present database has several goals: curatorial, didactic, documentary and scholarly. First, it will give an idea of what has been preserved and is a step towards reuniting the remaining holdings, at least on a virtual basis. Moreover, the database can serve as the starting point for further possible restoration of the casts, since it allows for assembling the fragments of destroyed sculptures that sometimes are stored in different locations. Once complete, the database will help students and faculty alike to familiarize themselves with major monuments and artworks of the past.