Statuette of a Lyre Player with a Companion

Cast in solid bronze, this statuette of a standing lyre player and a smaller companion dates to the early 600s B.C. The statuette was probably dedicated to the gods and was originally attached to another object, as indicated by the holes in the base. The figures' style and proportions indicate an origin on the island of Crete.

The statuette's composition and subject matter are unusual. Groups of figures are not common in Greek small bronzes, nor are lyre players, although they are often found in other media. The unusual subject of the Getty Museum's bronze has led some scholars to speculate about the statuette's meaning. By the early 600s B.C., Homer's poems were spreading throughout Greece and influencing the visual arts. The lyre player may represent a poet such as those who traveled throughout Greece reciting the epic poems of gods and heroes.