Oil Pourer
Introduction The ''Oil Pourer'', after Lysippos  (Glyptothek, Munich)The '''''Oil Pourer''''' is a lost Greek bronze of an athlete variously associated with the circle of Lysippos, c. 340-330 BCE, of which Roman marble copies exist, notably in the Glyptothek, Munich (''illustration'') and in the Albertinum, Dresden. Another well-known Roman replica is conserved at Petworth House. There is a head of this type at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The ''Oil Pourer'' is similar in proportions and manner to the Lysippean ''Agias'' of which there is a Roman marble copy at Delphi.The athlete is represented pouring oil from a flask held high in his (missing) right hand into the (missing) palm of his left. The theme is represented on Attic vase-painting and in freely reinterpreted cast terracotta miniatures.The Munich sculpture was treated in the 19th century with acid to clean it, which has dissolved about 2mm off its surfaces.
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