Greece, Hellenistic period / 300–200 BCE
Head of Herakles Refashioned as a Weight
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Head of Herakles Refashioned as a Weight as sculpture (Greece, Hellenistic period · 300–200 BCE).
Romans filled their weights with lead because it was plentiful, cheap, and easy to shape.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as bronze filled with lead.
The museum's collection notes: Even without his club or lion skin, the short curly hair and full curly beard identify this miniature head as that of Herakles. The eyes and mouth were likely once inlaid. His upward gaze suggests the head may be based on the Herakles Epitrapezios by Lysippos, the personal sculptor of Alexander the Great. The original Herakles Epitrapezios survives only through copies, including this one as well as a slightly later marble version also in Cleveland (among many others). This head was refashioned into a weight, probably in the Roman period, by filling it with lead and adding holes for a hook.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtHead of Herakles Refashioned as a WeightOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.