Bust of Periander

Bust of Periander bearing the inscription "Periander, son of Cypselus, Corinthian". Marble, Roman copy after a Greek original by Kresilas, 4th century

Madonna dal collo lungo

The Madonna of the Long Neck (Italian: Madonna dal collo lungo), also known as Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome, is an Italian Mannerist oil painting by the painter Parmigianino, dating from c. 1535-1540 and depicting Madonna and Child with angels. The painting was begun in 1534 for the church of the Servites in Parma, but remained incomplete on Parmigianino's death in 1540. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany purchased it in 1798 and it has been on display at the Uffizi since 1948. The painting depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a high pedestal in luxurious robes, holding a rather large baby Jesus on her lap. Six angels crowded together on the Madonna's right, adore the Christ-child. In the lower right-hand corner of the painting is an enigmatic scene, with a row of marble columns and the emaciated figure of St. Jerome. A depiction of St. Jerome was required by the commissioner because of the saint's connection with the adoration of the Virgin Mary. The painting is popularly called "Madonna of the Long Neck" because "the painter, in his eagerness to make the Holy Virgin look graceful and elegant, has given her a neck like that of a swan." On the unusual arrangement of figures, Austrian-British art historian E. H. Gombrich writes: Instead of distributing his figures in equal pairs on both sides of the Madonna, he crammed a jostling crowd of angels into a narrow corner, and left the other side wide open to show the tall figure of the prophet, so reduced in size through the distance that he hardly reaches the Madonna's knee. There can be no doubt, then, that if this be madness there is method in it. The painter wanted to be unorthodox. He wanted to show that the classical solution of perfect harmony is not the only solution conceivable ... Parmigianino and all the artists of his time who deliberately sought to create something new and unexpected, even at the expense of the 'natural' beauty established by the great masters, were perhaps the first 'modern' artists. Parmigianino has distorted nature for his own artistic purposes, creating a typical Mannerist figura serpentinata. Jesus is also extremely large for a baby and he lies precariously on Mary's lap as if about to fall at any moment. The Madonna herself is of hardly human proportions—she is almost twice the size of the angels to her right. Her right foot rests on cushions that appear to be only a few inches away from the picture plane, but the foot itself seems to project beyond it, and is thus on "our" side of the canvas, breaking the conventions of a framed picture. Her slender hands and long fingers have also led the Italian medical scientist Vito Franco of the University of Palermo to diagnose that Parmigianino's model had the genetic disorder Marfan syndrome affecting her connective tissue. Following a recent restoration of the painting, the unfinished face of an angel just below the Madonna's right elbow can be seen more clearly. Also the angel in the middle of the bottom row now looks at the vase held by the angel on his right, in which can be seen the faint image of a cross. Before the restoration this angel looked down at the Christ child. The changes made during the restoration likely reflect the original painting, which must have been altered at some time in its history.

Statue of Memi and Sabu

Statue of Memi and Sabu, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4,
ca. 2575–2465 B.C. Egyptian; Probably from Giza
 Painted limestone H. 24 3/8 in. (62 cm) Rogers Fund, 1948 (48.111).

Pair statues, usually depicting a husband and wife, were frequently placed in a serdab, the hidden statue chamber often found in nonroyal tomb chapels of the Old Kingdom. The Egyptians believed that the spirit of the deceased could use such a statue as a home and enter it in order to benefit from gifts of food that were brought to the offering chapel of the tomb. The inscription on the front of this statue identifies these individuals as the Royal Acquaintance Memi and Sabu. Although the text does not specify a relationship, they were probably husband and wife, as is common for pair statues where a relationship is recorded. The pose is unusual because Memi is returning Sabu's embrace by draping his arm around her shoulders. This restricting gesture may account for the fact that he stands with his feet together, rather than striding forward in the normal masculine pose. Until recently, this statue was dated to Dynasty 5, but the figures have many features in common with Fourth Dynasty statues found in the nonroyal cemeteries surrounding the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) at Giza. In addition, the pose has only two known parallels, both from Giza and both datable to Dynasty 4.

Comb

Comb, Predynastic Period, ca. 3200 B.C. Egyptian, 

Ivory, H. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm). Theodore M. Davis Collection,

 Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915 (30.8.224). 

Finely carved ivory combs and knife handles produced toward the end of Egypt's prehistory demonstrate the high standards Egyptian artists had achieved, even before the Old Kingdom. This comb may have been part of the funeral equipment of an elite person who lived about 5,200 years ago. Parts of the comb's teeth, now missing, can be seen along the bottom edge. The detailed decoration suggests that it was a ceremonial object, not just an instrument for arranging the hair. On both sides are figures of animals in horizontal rows, a spatial organization familiar from later Egyptian art. The animals include elephants and snakes; wading birds and a giraffe; hyenas; cattle; and perhaps boars. Similar arrangements of these creatures on other carved ivory implements suggest that the arrangement and choice of animals were not haphazard. Elephants treading on snakes suggest that this part of the scene was symbolic. The mythologies of many African peoples associate elephants and serpents with the creation of the universe. The uppermost row of this comb may symbolize a creative deity to whom the rest of the animals owe their existence.

Vessel, Predynastic Period

Vessel, Predynastic Period, Naqada II, ca. 3450–3300 B.C., Egyptian, Painted pottery. H. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm). Rogers Fund, 1920 (20.2.10).

 The images on this vessel represent important social or religious events, the precise significance of which is not perfectly understood. Two male and two female figures stand aboard a boat, which is depicted with oars and two cabins. In the areas surrounding the boat are mountains, birds that may represent flamingos, plants, and water.