Abstract

In 1982, the J. Paul Getty Museum purchased an ancient kline made mostly of bronze (pl. 9, I)1. It replicates, at full scale, a wooden couch with lathe-turned legs, comparable to those attested in the Greek world in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E2. As one of only four known bronze beds or couches that pre-date the Hellenistic period3, it is an important artifact that can contribute much to our understanding of ancient furniture and metallurgy, and adhering fragments and pseudomorphs of linen cloth add to the corpus of preserved ancient textiles. The decoration incised on the surfaces of the kline frame offers unique variations upon Archaic ornamental motifs (rosettes, meander bands, and lotus-and- palmette and lotus bud-and-flower chains), in a freehand technique that suggests individual interpretation and adaptation.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2012 Association of Friends of Ancient Art. This article first appeared in Antike Kunst 55 (2012), 63-87.

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