The Mattei Athena is a

Parian marble Parian marble is a fine-grained, semi translucent, and pure-white marble quarried during the classical antiquity, classical era on the Greece, Greek List of islands of Greece, island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. A subtype, referred to as Parian ' ...

sculpture dating to the 2nd or 1st century BC. It is considered by scholars to be a copy of the

Piraeus Athena The Piraeus Athena is a Greek bronze statue dated to the fourth century BCE. Named for the city in which it was found, it currently resides in the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus. Description The statue is an over-life sized representation of A ...

. It was purchased by the Louvre in 1824 and is currently on exhibit at the

Louvre Abu Dhabi The Louvre Abu Dhabi (; ) is an art museum located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It runs under an agreement between the UAE and France, signed in March 2007, that allows it to use the Louvre's name until 2047, and has ...

Structure

The Mattei Athena and the bronze Piraeus Athena are almost identical in regards to their size, stance, and dress. The statue has several areas of damage, including to the head, which had been broken at the top of the neck. The nose is a modern restoration along with several other areas of the face. The Mattei Athena's left hand and wrist are also part of a modern restoration, but it is considered likely that they matched the Piraeus Athena originally. The position of the right hand and arm differ between the sculptures — the Piraeus Athena's right arm extends forward with her palm up, while the Mattei Athena's arm is bent and her hand sits on her hip. This difference is attributed by scholars to economic and technical reasons. To carve the right arm extending forward would have required more marble, and the arm might not have been strong enough to hold something, as it is believed the Piraeus Athena originally did.{{Cite journal , last=Sparkes , first=Brian A. , date=1987 , title=Greek Bronzes , url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/642943 , journal=Greece & Rome , volume=34 , issue=2 , pages=152–168, doi=10.1017/S0017383500028102 , jstor=642943 , url-access=subscription The Corinthian helmet also differs slightly between the Piraeus Athena and the Mattei Athena, with the cheek-pieces of the Mattei Athena's helmet depicting ram's heads rather than the owls.

References

Sculptures of Athena 2nd-century BC Greek sculptures Louvre Abu Dhabi Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the Louvre Marble sculptures