Dancing Figure
Primary
Unknown Greek
NationalityGreek, Europe
Dateafter 200 BCE – before 1 BCE
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 4 × 1 7/8 × 13/16 in. (10.2 × 4.8 × 2.1 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Frost Brothers Benefit and Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1986.46
Rights Statement
Collection AreaAntiquities
Object number1986.46
On View
Not on viewCollection Highlight
A man twists his body in a vigorous dance movement. He is nude except for a cloth tied around his waist. The exaggerated features, such as the beaked nose, ill-proportioned head, and strangely thin arms, indicate that he probably belonged to a marginalized class in society. The shaved head with a single lock of hair on top may suggest that he is a slave. The exotic portrayal of slaves and foreigners in bronze figurines was popular in Alexandria, a major port city in the Hellenistic period.
