Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 4 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
The Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory) and were associated with various arts: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute-playing), Terpsichore (lyric poetry and dance), Erato (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), Polyhymnia (hymns and pantomime), and Urania (astronomy). In Greek myth and culture, the Muses were honored as beautiful goddesses who brought inspiration to artists. In the Hellenistic period, the Muses were widely depicted, and certain statue types have been thought to depict particular Muses. This seated Muse, holding her chin in a thoughtful gesture, is traditionally thought to be Urania, Muse of astronomy. Statues of the Muses also adorned the great scholarly complex in Alexandria known as the Mouseion, "Place of the Muses," which has given us the modern word "museum."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
7133
label
Seated Muse or Nymph on Rock (Adaptation of Urania Type)
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
citationUrl
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
7133
sourceUrl
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Seated Muse or Nymph on Rock (Adaptation of Urania Type)
description
The Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory) and were associated with various arts: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute-playing), Terpsichore (lyric poetry and dance), Erato (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), Polyhymnia (hymns and pantomime), and Urania (astronomy). In Greek myth and culture, the Muses were honored as beautiful goddesses who brought inspiration to artists. In the Hellenistic period, the Muses were widely depicted, and certain statue types have been thought to depict particular Muses. This seated Muse, holding her chin in a thoughtful gesture, is traditionally thought to be Urania, Muse of astronomy. Statues of the Muses also adorned the great scholarly complex in Alexandria known as the Mouseion, "Place of the Muses," which has given us the modern word "museum."
provenance
Feuardent, Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Joseph Brummer, New York and Paris, 1923, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. P812]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1924, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
2nd century BCE (Hellenistic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
statues
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
65.7
height
32.4
depth
22
dimensionsRaw
H: 25 7/8 x W: 12 3/4 x D: 8 11/16 in. (65.7 x 32.4 x 22 cm)
Source extras
cul
Greek
med
marble
creator_ids
6191
6256
collection_ids
GRC
ROM
exhibition_ids
2237
2524
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
58d451952ead89bd
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
33481380230beb90
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
26da7be16222e326
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
c5edd79f8d360c8f
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no