The Nereid monument at Xanthos, probably a tomb for a local king, takes the form of a small temple on a high podium. It was lavishly decorated with sculpture, including Nereids, spirits who lived under the sea. The sculptor here has taken the opportunity to show deep sweeping folds in their wet and windswept garments. Xanthos was close to the sea in ancient Lycia, which is in modern-day south west Turkey
Number:
212
Material:
Marble
Location of Original:
London British Museum 910
Size:
1.41m
Accession:
Purchased in 1884 from Brucciani
References:
Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 208 (n.1-2)
Richter: Sculpture & Sculptors of the Greeks (1950), fig.302
Lawrence: Classical Sculpture (1928), 233
Smith: Catalogue of British Museum Sculpture II (1900), 35
Burn: Greek and Roman Art (1991), 117
Date:
c.400 BCE
Provenance:
Found at Xanthos
