Offering bearer

Vast numbers of life-size and colossal statues of young men were set up in Greek sanctuaries as dedications to the gods. Like the many such statues in marble, this figure in bronze was primarily meant as a lavish gift to a divinity – probably Hera, judging from its find spot in the Heraion on Samos (although other gods in addition to Hera were worshipped in this famous sanctuary). This bronze youth is depicted as an offering bearer: he once held an animal or other object intended as a gift. His body is lean and compact, and his youthful face is framed by wavy hair pressing against his forehead and temples. At his hairline is a hole that probably held a special adornment, most likely a flower. Long, luxurious locks of hair fall in broad waves down his back. Their softness is echoed in the curves of the body, especially the chest and shoulders. Yet the narrow hips, broad shoulders, and slender, powerful legs impart strength and vigour – the artist clearly revelled in his task of giving shape to the grace of a young body. In both quality and size the statuette is unique among Samian small bronzes, surely the work of a great Samian sculptor. The excellent modelling is matched by perfect execution of the hollow-cast technique and subsequent finishing work. We might imagine the dedicator of the statuette to have been a member of the aristocracy, or even (as Ernst Buschor suggested) the infamous tyrant of Samos, Polykrates. Polykrates ruled the island from 538 to 522 BC, the precise period in which the statuette was made.
While excavating a new area of the Heraion in 1984, Helmut Kyrieleis found a pendant piece to this statuette. The second piece is remarkably similar to the first. Today it can be seen in the Archaeological Museum in Samos. An inscription in large letters was roughly scratched into its left thigh, proclaiming that “Smikros” dedicated the object “to Hera.” The name of Smikros is not known on Samos outside of this inscription. The Samos and Berlin statuettes match exactly in style, pose, and size – yet the meaning of two such identical votives, seen occasionally in large Samian sculpture as well, is far from clear. Both statuettes in this case were probably cast in different moulds taken from the same model. In 1979 the Berlin statuette was examined with radioactive rays, revealing traces on the sides of the figure where the front and rear halves of the mould were joined. Using a plaster mould constructed of multiple pieces to replicate a given model was already a well-established technique in the Archaic period.
Today the offering bearer stands on a plaster cast of the original base, a stack of two nearly square steps with a thin plate mounted on top. The original base was excavated in the Heraion in 1934 and is now on display in the Samos museum. The statuette was once soldered to the base. On its upper surface, the outline of two feet standing side-by-side is clearly visible, traced in solder. Weathering has made the outline even more stark. The feet of the Berlin statue fit perfectly into these footprints, making it extremely probable that they go together.