Apollo Strangford

Apollo Strangford is a Greek sculpture of a nude youth in Parian marble, dating to around 500–490 BCE. It is one of the very last examples of the kouros type, yet it is also considered among the earliest Greek statues in the classical style. The figure stands frontally in balance on both legs, with the right leg slightly back and the left slightly forward. The upper arms were bent, though the hands are missing and were probably free from the body. The sculpture has been in the British Museum since 1864, when it was acquired from the collection of Percy Smythe, Viscount Strangford.

Apollo Strangford, a broken marble statue of a young male figure with missing arms and lower legs. — Apollo Strangford, shown here as a damaged marble statue with missing arms and lower legs.
1914 © Internet Archive Book Images · No restrictions

Apollo Strangford marble kouros statue with short curly hair and missing arms — Apollo Strangford, a marble kouros of a youthful male figure with both arms missing.
May 2014 © Zde · CC BY-SA 4.0

Apollo Strangford, a standing nude male statue with short curly hair and missing arms. — Apollo Strangford shown as a standing nude figure with short curly hair and broken arms.
June 2018 © Zde · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Strangford Apollo marble statue beside a headless kouros torso, both shown from the chest down. — The Strangford Apollo displayed alongside the Marion Kouros at the British Museum.
February 2016 © Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors · CC BY-SA 2.0

Identification
Title	Strangford Apollo
Type	Ancient Greek kouros statue
Subject	Nude young male figure
Identification	An archaic image of the god Apollo
Alternative names	Apollo of Anafi; Apollon Strangford; Apolo Strangford; kouros di Anafi; kuros de Ánafi
Historical context
Date	About 500–490 BCE
Style	Archaic style; transitional between the kouros tradition, the Severe style, and early Classical Greek sculpture
Art-historical classification	One of the latest known examples of the kouros type
Significance	Shows the rapid evolution in ancient Greek sculpture and the outward humanisation characteristic of late Archaic sculpture
Creator
Artist	Anonymous
Discovery and provenance
Former owner	Percy Smythe, 8th Viscount Strangford (Lord Strangford)
Museum acquisition	Purchased by the British Museum in 1864 by Charles Thomas Newton from the Strangford collection; Newton found it in Strangford's cellar
Former owner's role	British ambassador to the Sublime Porte in Constantinople, 1820–1825; ambassador to the king of Portugal in Brazil
Probable origin	The island of Aegina, probably made there
Acquisition history	Believed to have been acquired by Percy Smythe, 8th Viscount Strangford, in the 1820s, early in the Greek War of Independence
Possible function	Cult statue of the island's temple of Apollo Aigletes or a temple dedication; it may predate the temple
Basis for origin hypothesis	Similarities with figures on the pediments of the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina
Provenance	Uncertain; generally believed to have been found on Anafi, though Lemnos has also been suggested
Physical characteristics
Details	Five drilled holes in the hair: one in the middle of the forehead, one above the right ear, two above the left ear, and one larger hole on the top of the head
Proportions	More naturalistic than most earlier korai
Face	Rather serious, with a very slight archaic smile
Anatomy	Ribs are clearly marked under the armpits and framed toward the back by a relief; lower abdomen is too long; navel is high and eye-shaped; back is modeled with a strongly curved waist and heavy buttocks; thigh muscles are exaggerated; kneecaps are carefully worked; torso musculature is anatomically correct; build is strong and athletic
Condition	Arms and lower legs missing; in excellent condition
Hair	Short, orderly hair forming a crown of curls around the head; two rows of spiral curls over the forehead, with three curls in front of the ears; a narrow fillet runs around the head above the curls; the ends are raised from the neck in a crobylos
Head	Square head with a short, broad face
Arms	Both upper arms were folded, but the hands were free from the body and may have held something
Pose	Front-facing, standing with the body weight mainly on the right foot, left leg slightly advanced and bent as if taking a step forward
Height	100 cm
Materials
Material	Parian marble
Location and ownership
Current location	British Museum, London
Collection	British Museum
Display status	On permanent display
Inventory number	GR 1864.2-20.1
Museum catalog number	Sculpture B 475
History and restoration
Later reuse	The face was used for the 'Colossus of Leone', a colossal prop for Sergio Leone's 1961 film The Colossus of Rhodes
Reason for later reuse	After Leone's wish to give the statue the face of Benito Mussolini was rejected
Other
Female equivalent	Korai (singular: kore)
Approximate type period	The kouros/kore type originated in the 7th century BCE during the Archaic period of Greek art

Apollo Strangford

Identification

Historical context

Creator

Discovery and provenance

Physical characteristics

Materials

Location and ownership

History and restoration

Other