Dancing Dwarf
100 BC-AD 100
Maker Unknown
Greek and Roman Art
Dancing Dwarf, 100 BC-AD 100. Italy (?), Roman, 1st Century BC-1st Century. Bronze; overall: 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Sundry Purchase Fund by Exchange 1972.72 This small, bearded figure wears a twisted sash around his hips and has an exaggerated phallus. He stands with his left arm raised and his right arm on his waist. His left hand is missing but could have once held krotala (ancient clapper-like instruments), as other examples of dancing dwarves hold. People with dwarfism in art are typically rendered with a large head, widely spaced eyes, sharply raised eyebrows, and a depressed nasal bridge, all seen on this figure. This object may have been used as an apotropaic, or protective, amulet to ward off evil. People with dwarfism were favorite subjects in Hellenistic art, and then became popular in the Roman Empire.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- bronze
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in.)
- Departments
- Greek and Roman Art
- Accession Number
- 1972.72
- Credit Line
- Sundry Purchase Fund by Exchange
- Exhibitions
- Year in Review: 1972, Ancient Art of Greece and Rome, Allentown Art Museum, September 16-December 29, 1979, "Aspects of Ancient Greece," 223-23.
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 103 Roman
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