Lost Fragments of the Iphigeneia Group at Copenhagen

Extract

In the Anzeiger of the Arch. Jahrbuch 1904, pp. 224 ff., the discovery and reconstruction of a life-size marble group, now in the Ny-Carlsberg Museum, is briefly reported: it is described as an original marble work, approximately contemporary with the Niobids, and representing Artemis substituting the hind for Iphigeneia.

The complete investigation and publication of this fine work have been up till now retarded by the disappearance of two important fragments, originally found with the rest at Rome in 1886, in the Gardens of Sallust, on the Spithöver Estate. Towards the end of the last century these fell into the hands of Roman dealers, and in spite of much searching have not so far been rediscovered. They were, however, known from brief written memoranda (supplemented by oral statements), and in particular from a photograph taken by Herr Joseph Haass at the time of their discovery. This photograph is here reproduced. The circular altar with the figures of seasons which is so conspicuous thereon does not belong to the group, but was at one time in the hands of a dealer at Florence.