The J. Paul Getty Museum journal

173 Pages·1989·17.845 MB·English

by  J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
JOURNAL Volume 17/1989
Including Acquisitions/1988
Unless otherwise specified, all photographs
are courtesy of the institution owning the
work illustrated.
© 1989 The J. Paul Getty Museum
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
[phone]
ISBN 0-89236-157-3
ISSN 0362-1979
THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM JOURNAL VOLUME 17/1989
Contents
ANTIQUITIES
An Ivory Fulcrum Medallion 5
Elisabeth Doumeyrou
DRAWINGS
A New Drawing by Giovanni Battista Naldini 15
Gerhard Gruitrooy
A New Drawing by Hanns Lautensack 21
Lee Hendrix
The Significance of Titian's Pastoral Scene 29
Clark Hulse
Two Bronzes in Poussins Studies of Antiquities 39
David J affé
DECORATIVE ARTS
Science and Luxury: Two Acquisitions by the J. Paul Getty Museum 47
Jean-Nérée Ronfort
PHOTOGRAPHS
Portrait of a Marriage: Paul Strand's Photographs of Rebecca 83
Belinda Rathbone
ACQUISITIONS/1988
Introduction: The Collections 100 Drawings 126
and the Year's Activities
Decorative Arts 140
Notes to the Reader 106
Sculpture and Works of Art 146
Antiquities 107
Photographs 153
Manuscripts 116
Trustees and Staff List 167
Paintings 123
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An Ivory Fulcrum Medallion
Elisabeth Doumeyrou
In the beginning of 1987, the J. Paul Getty Museum forehead they become tormented and complex, stand­
acquired a very handsome Hellenistic ivory applique ing upright upon the eyebrow and giving the face a
depicting the head of the god Pan in profile (figs, wild expression.
la—b). The carving's quality, inspired iconography, and The frown is the most expressive element in the face:
function make it a unique piece. it offsets the lack of a right eye and forms a dark
The figure stands out in profile, turned toward the shadow that gives force to the whole piece. This ab­
left. The relief, flat at the top and the nape of the neck, sence of the right part of the face is also made less
becomes deeper in the locks on the forehead, and is so obvious by the slight deviation of the muzzle. This
high around the nose, the mouth, and the chin that shifting (noticeable when seen from the front) disap­
these parts seem almost carved in the round. pears in the general design of the profile. The violent
When first created, the object must have had approx­ movement of eyebrows is common in Hellenistic Pans
imately the same shape as today and thus did not be­ and can be found in a simplified version on coins.
long to a broader composition. The original silhouette The very detailed eye, with thin eyelids and marked
is formed by the top and the back of the head (almost pupil and iris, is seen, for instance, on a silver oinochoe
entirely preserved) and the profile down to the middle of tomb II in Vergina.2 A Hellenistic terracotta head
of the nose. The lower part of the piece is limited by the from the Treviso Museum also shows the same features
incised edge under the chin, delineating the turn of the (fig. 2). The flat nose with goatlike triangular nostrils is
beard. This detail indicates that the applique was meant rare in representations of Pan. A statue in the National
to be seen from below. The major losses are the nape Museum in Athens presents a similar, but more natu­
and the background on which the lower part of the ralistic, nose.3
muzzle stands out. Only the beginning of this back­ The prognathous mouth opens on a delicate row of
ground exists today, but according to the general bal­ upper teeth. The prominent chin curves softly and the
ance of the piece, it must not have been very wide. The wavy beard, formed of thin strands, joins the hair of the
back of the applique is flat and a hole is drilled through cheeks and turns under the chin at the edge of the piece.
it, emerging on the face close to the temple. An equivalent beard treatment can be found in a ter­
The figure is unique in the mix of human and goatish racotta bust of Pan in the Varvakeion.4 The delicate and
features. The general silhouette, round head, thick expressive cheeks, with supple muscles, high cheek­
neck, expressive forehead, and rather regular profile are bones, and thin hair, are particularly well carved, es­
more human, while the fleece, flat muzzle, beard, thin pecially around the nose, the mouth, and the corner of
lips, pointed ears, and horns reflect the animal side of the lips.
the god. A flat, double-edged bacchic fillet is tied around the
Little comma-like curls, themselves incised in the head, although the knot on top is not apparent. This
curved locks, are very close to the style of hair tradi­ area was roughly carved, perhaps to save space for a
tionally used in Hellenistic sculpture and metalware, nail. The cloth fillet falls down the cheeks and in front
yet here they are woollier to represent fleece.1 On the of the temple in a soft, thick bow, then rolls diagonally
I would like to thank here Dr. Marion True, Curator of Antiq­ ter) (Athens, 1978).
uities, the J. Paul Getty Museum, for giving me the opportunity to 2. M. Andronicos, "The Royal Graves in the Great Tumulus (Ba-
publish an article on this wonderful piece. I am also grateful to Dr. F. silikos taphoi tes megales toumpas)," AAA 10 (1977), pp. 1-72. The
Causey, Dr. H. Prag, Dr. E. R. Williams, K. Wight, A. Smitt, A. abbreviations used are the ones listed in American Journal of Archaeol­
Leinster, and all of those who helped me during this study. ogy 82 (1978), pp. 3^10 and 84 (1980), pp. 3-4.
1. On sculpture, see for example, L. Laurenzi, Ritratti Greci 3. Statuette of Pan seated on a rock. From the Olympeion.
(Rome, 1968); M. Bieber, Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age (New York, Athens National Archaeological Museum 683.
1955); C. Vermeule, Greek Art: Socrates to Sulla (Cambridge, Mass., 4. A. Furtwangler, "Buste Pans in Terracotta," AM 3 (1878),
1980); idem, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America (Boston, 1981). For pp. 155-160, pi. 8.
goldware, see E. Gioure, O Krateras tou Derveniou (The Derveni Kra-
6 Doumeyrou
Figure 1a. Applique depicting the head of Pan, three- Figure lb. Side view of figure la.
quarter view. Hellenistic, circa 2d-lst cen
tury B.C. Ivory. H: 8.56 cm (37s in.); W: 7.97
cm (37» in.); Th (max): 2.3 cm in.).
(15/i6
Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum 87.AI.18.
around the ear and floats freely in a decorative twist. Its short lines of the hair on the nose, the eyebrows, and
end has been chipped away. the ear. Some details add to the sensitivity and natural
In the fleece, a space had been drilled for a horn too ism of the figure, for example, the small wrinkles on
large to be worked from the same piece of tusk. This the nose and under the lower eyelid, and the lock of
horn, now missing, may have been made from another hair between the eye and the forehead.
piece of ivory or from a nonreactive material (for ex Among ivories, a very beautiful group from the first
ample, wood or bone). In keeping with the general century B.c. depicting Achilles and Penthesilea, now
proportions of the object, it probably was not very in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City
prominent. (fig. 3), shows the same interest in details as the Getty
The extremely fine and skillful craftsmanship makes Museum's Pan, but in a more Neoclassical and sculp
the appliqué unique. The little details are highly tural manner.5 This artful rendering of the small motif
finished and decorative: the treatment of the hair, for and the accurate miniature without sacrificing the sensi
example, ranges from the large curls of the fleece to the tive expression and general coherence is distinctive of
small incisions of the beard (typical for the representa the artist. To achieve such effects, including the hole of
tion of beards on Hellenistic bronze statues), and the the iris, he used only a small gouge or chisel. The
5. E. C. Banks, "A Roman Ivory of the First Century B.C.," pp. 189-286, pis. 1-3.
Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin 5, no. 5 (September 1979), 7. Athenaeus, 5.204e, 5.207c.
pp. 3-22. 8. For Syrian and Phoenician ivories, see R. D. Barnett, "Phoeni
6. Athenaeus, 2.49a, 5.202, 6.2-552. On the use of bone see Pliny, cian and Syrian Ivory Carving," PEQ (1933), pp. 12ff For Etruscan
NH 2.8. White details on furniture in black-figure vases may repre ivories, see Y. Huis, Ivoires d'Etrurie (Bruxelles-Rome, 1957). For My
sent ivory inlays. See C. Ransom, Studies in Ancient Furniture: Couches cenaean ivories, see J. C. Poursat, Catalogue des ivoires mycéniens du
and Beds of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans (Chicago, 1905), p. Musée National d Athènes (Paris, 1977). For Archaic ivories, see R. D.
40, n. 4. On ivory furniture, see also P. Bernard, "Sièges et lits en Barnett, "Early Greek and Oriental Ivories," JHS 68 (1948), pp. 1-25.
ivoire d'époque hellénistique en Asie Centrale," Syria 67 (1960), For late antique ivories, see W. F. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der Spàtan-
An Ivory Fulcrum Medallion 7
Figure 2. Bust of a bearded man. Hellenistic, circa sec­ Figure 3. Group in the round of Achilles and Pen-
ond half of the 2d century B.C. Terracotta. thesilea. Graeco-Roman, circa late 1st cen­
H: 15 cm (57/32 in.). Treviso, Museo Civico tury B.C. Ivory. H (max): 8.5 cm (3n/32 in.).
DT.68. Kansas City, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
76.11.
same tools were also employed for flattening the back Roman periods.9 The very common use in these latter
of the piece. periods of the lamination technique for building up
A significant number of texts and discoveries prove ivory inlays has led to the material's fragmentation over
the extensive use and value of ivory in classical antiq­ time into small, unattractive bits and layers. This, along
uity. This material, and its cheaper substitute, bone, with the quick decay of ivory in damp soil, is largely
were used for small- and large-scale sculpture (among responsible for making these objects unimpressive and
which chryselephantine works are the most famous), explains the lack of interest among scholars and excava­
toilet objects, arms, musical instruments, and furni­ tors for the ivories of these periods.
ture.6 In the Hellenistic period, it was widely employed The cross-section of the Getty Museum's applique
as a luxury product for ornamental details on the walls, is typical of elephant ivory, though the piece is worked
doors, and ceilings of palaces of princes and rulers.7 in such detail that there is no polished area where one
Phoenician, Syrian, Etruscan, Mycenaean, Archaic can observe the normal crisscross surface pattern of
Greek, and late antique ivories have been well studied this material.10 That the object was carved from a very
and published.8 However, few works have focused on large tusk is evident from the marrow hollow visible
ivory pieces of the Classical, the Hellenistic, and the at the back.11
tike und des Frühen Mittelalters (Mainz, 1952). klasyczwego)," Rocznik Muzeum Narodowego w Warzawie V—18 (1976),
9. The most extensive and recent publications are: R. D. Barnett, pp. 59—110 (in Polish, summary in French). See also H. Graeven,
Ancient Ivories in the Middle East and Adjacent Countries, Qedem: Mono­ Elfenbein und Knochen Schnitzereien in photographischer Nachbildung
graphs of the Institute of Archaeology 14 (1982); H. Randall, "Classical (Hanover, 1903); this still-important work needs to be updated.
Ivories" in Masterpieces of Ivory in the Walters Art Gallery (New York, 10. See L. Pennimann, Pictures of Ivory and Other Animals' Teeth,
1985); E. Rodziewicz, "Greek Ivories of the Hellenistic Period," Tra­ Bone, and Antler, Occasional Papers on Technology 5 (Oxford, 1968),
vaux du centre dArchéologie Méditerranéenne de VAcadémie Polonaise des pp. 13-14, pi. 1.
Sciences 11: Etudes et Travaux 5 (1971), pp. 72—89; idem, "Les ivoires de 11. B. Burack, Ivory and Its Uses (Tokyo, 1984) and A. McGregor,
la période classique (Greckie wyraby z kosci sloniowej 'okresu Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn (Totowa, N.J., 1985).
8 Doumeyrou
Figure 4. Applique of a satyr walking to the left. Roman, circa 1st century B.C.
Ivory. H: 22.8 cm (831/32 in.). Said to come from Sicily. Baltimore,
Walters Art Gallery 71.557.
Under the microscope, there is no decisive element to west Hellenistic road (through Afghanistan and the
indicate if the ivory comes from an Indian or an African Hindu Kush passes) or by sea via the Persian Gulf or
elephant. In the Hellenistic period, ivory was partly the Red Sea.13 The re-exporting areas were Alexandria,
imported from Africa—from the west (so-called Libya) Syria, and the Greek islands (chiefly Rhodes and De-
and, more importantly, from the east (Ethiopia) by way los, coincident with either's preeminence during the
of the Nile and above all the Red Sea.12 Indian ivory, period).14 From these markets, both types of ivory
also frequently used, came by land following the east- traveled widely. Thus it is impossible, on this basis, to
12. Herodotus 3.114, 4.191; Pausanias 5.12.3. Adulis (Zala) on the World (Oxford, 1941).
Eritrean coast was the most important market for ivory during the 15. See, for example, Anticka bronza u jugoslaviji (Beograd, 1969),
Classical period. no. 63; A. Roes and W. Vollgraff, "Le canthare de Stevensveert,"
13. Pausanias, idem. For trade routes, see M. P. Charlesworth, MonPiot 46 (1952), pp. 39-67.
Trade Routes and Commerce of the Roman Empire (London, 1924); E. H. 16. Small hanging Marsyas in marble, Malibu, J. Paul Getty Mu
Warmington, The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India seum 72.AA.107; bronze statue of a standing man, Rome, Museo
(London-New York, 1928), 2d ed. 1974; and R. Mauny, "Le Périple de Nazionale 1049; terracotta head of a bearded man, Treviso, Museo
la mer Erythrée et le problème du commerce romain en Afrique au Civico DT 68; bronze portrait from Delos, Athens, National Mu
sud du Limes," Journal de la société des africanistes 38, 1 (Paris, 1968). seum 14612.
14. M. Rostovzeff, The Social and Economie History of the Hellenistic 17. On iconography see F. Brommer, "Pan," PW Supplement 8
An Ivory Fulcrum Medallion 9
determine the provenance of our material.
The piece obviously belongs to the Hellenistic tradi­
tion of decorative arts and is especially related to metal-
wares in silver and gold.15 One can find in it influences
of the baroque pathos recurrent in this period, as well
as signs of the beginning of a classical revival. The
strong construction, the delicate study from nature, and
the fine expression—neither totally naturalistic nor
wholly fantastic—are part of the eclecticism of late
Hellenistic art.
General comparisons of proportions can be made
with other sculpture of this period, including a small
Marsyas in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, the
Hellenistic Ruler in the National Museum in Rome, the
head in Treviso, and the portrait of a man from Delos in
the National Museum in Athens.16 However, the wide
silhouette, the triangular nose, the exaggeratedly cap­
rine mouth, and, above all, the absence of the typical
long and tormented mustaches of the goat-god (re­
placed here by a more realistically hairy upper lip) set
the Getty Museum's Pan apart from the many icon-
ographic types of Pans from the Hellenistic period.17
One of the most handsome Hellenistic ivories comes
from tomb III in Vergina.18 It represents a Dionysiac
pair preceded by Pan playing the flute. The craftsman­ Figure 5. Back of figure la.
ship is delicate, freely artistic, and Lysippan. But it is a
young Pan whose iconography is totally different from
that of our piece. The flat back of the piece (fig. 5) was scratched to
Another cruder and more elementary Pan, playing increase its adherence to a background.23 The hole in
the flute, is incised on a plate from Great Bliznitsa in the face, which seems ancient, was probably filled by a
southern Russia.19 Unfortunately the figure of the god (metal?) nail that projected beyond the surface; the hole
is broken in another small, delicate relief showing a is partially bored in the thickness of the fillet, and
Dionysiac procession (sold in Basel in 1972).20 I have shows traces of oxidation. The second part of the hole
not been able to see a "little damaged Pan holding a may be modern. It was connected to the first one but
syrinx and a pedum" of the Imperial period, mentioned drilled from the back, not quite on the same axis, by a
in the catalogue of the museum in Ostia.21 screw that broke chips out of the back. This second
In the same iconographic range, one can include an hole was certainly added sometime later to reinforce the
ivory ajouré depicting a satyr from the Walters Art Gal­ adherence to the background.
lery in Baltimore (fig. 4), a small furniture support in The somewhat round shape of the piece leads one to
the shape of a Marsyas in the Museo Archeologico in the conclusion that it was a medallion. Too large to
Naples—both of which are more classical—and a stat­ belong to a toilet object, a casket, or a musical instru­
uette of Silenus in a private collection in Basel, typical ment, it would have suited a piece of furniture—more
of the late Classical period.22 specifically the fulcrum of a couch or a bed.
(1956), cols. 950-1008; R. Herbig, Pan (Frankfurt-am-Main, 1949). Basel, December 1972, lot 59.
18. Excavated in 1978. See Andronicos (note 2); idem, "The Finds 21. R. Calza and M. Floriani Squarciano, Museo Ostiense (Rome,
from the Royal Tomb at Vergina," ProcBritAc 65 (1979), pp. 355-367 1947), pp. 97-104, inv. 4214.
and figs.; idem, "The Royal Tombs at Vergina: A Brief Account of 22. Randall ([note 9], fig. 8, n. 18), inv. 71.557; G. Pesce, // Museo
the Excavations," The Search for Alexander, ex. cat. (Museum of Fine Nazionale di Napoli: Oreficeria, toreutica, gliptica, vitraria, ceramica
Arts, Boston, 1982), pp. 26-38. (Rome, 1932), pp. 7-8, fig. 6; K. Schefold, "Klassische Statuette aus
19. E. H. Minns, Scythians and Greeks (Cambridge, 1912), fig. 314 Elfenbein," Melanges Koutouleon (Athens, 1980), pp. 112-116, pi. 38.
(1-15). 23. For a similar treatment, see F. Rossi, "Una plachetta d'avorio
20. Bronzen der Antike; Tarentinische Skulpturen; Schnitzereien aus dall'acropoli di Monte Sannace" in Archivo Storico Pugliese 33 (1979)
Bein und Elfenbein (Sonderliste O); Miinzen und Medaillen, sale cat., Fasc. 1-IV, pp. 243-251, fig. 4.