MOSCOPHOROS

The “Moscophoros”, which means calf-bearer, portrays Rhombos, a rich, pious country gentleman, carrying a small calf on his shoulders to offer it as a sacrifice to the goddess Athena. At the foot of the statue is an inscription that reads "Dedicated to Rhombos, son of Palos".

The two figures blend smoothly with one another, thanks to how the contours are shaped, the way their heads are placed side by side and how the youth’s arms and the calf’s legs create an X-shaped composition. The wide-open eyes – which would once have been filled with glass paste, ivory and bone to color and enliven them – and the archaic smile give the figure a profoundly human expression. Like all works from this period, the head is not a lifelike portrait, but the ideal image of a man pleased to offer a gift to the deity.