Bust of Niobe's Daughter, after the Antique

Anne Seymour Damer, 1748–1828, British, Bust of Niobe's Daughter, after the Antique, 1780

Creator:: Anne Seymour Damer, 1748–1828
after classical unknown artist
Title:: Bust of Niobe's Daughter, after the Antique
Former Title(s):: Head of Niobe, after the Antique
Date:: 1780
Medium:: Terracotta
Dimensions:: Overall: 17 1/4 x 9 x 8 1/2 inches (43.8 x 22.9 x 21.6 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:: Signed and dated incised on back: “anne / damer / 1780 / fecit”
Credit Line:: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:: Public Domain
Accession Number:: B2011.15.1
Classification:: Sculptures
Collection:: Paintings and Sculpture
Subject Terms:: daughter | portrait | sadness | woman
Associated People:: Niobe
Access:: Not on view
Link:: https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:63916
Export:: XML
IIIF Manifest:: JSON

This bust is based on a figure from the celebrated group of ancient marbles representing Niobe and her daughters, which was much admired by Grand Tourists in the Uffizi in Florence. Anne Seymour Damer was an English aristocrat whose artistic career was encouraged by both the philosopher David Hume and the connoisseur Horace Walpole. She focused on sculpture, exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy, and made an extended trip to Italy in 1778–79, where she would have encountered the Niobe group and modeled this terracotta study after the head of one of Niobe’s doomed daughters. According to Greek mythology, because of Niobe’s hubris and boastfulness regarding her ability to have many children, Artemis killed Niobe’s daughters, and Apollo murdered her sons.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016

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