Part of a grave stele of a discus thrower

Fragment from the upper part of a stele which preserves the head of a youth in profile to the right. His hair is gathered at the back in a braided pigtail, bound at the end. In his left hand, he holds a discus and in front of this discus, his head is projected. The treatment of his facial characteristics is superb, his zygomatic bones, his almond-shaped eyes, and his light archaic smile. The relief is one of the finest pieces of sculpture of the archaic period and it was made by the sculptor known as “the Rampin Master”.

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  • Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. n. NAM Γ 38
  • Ca 550 BC
  • H. 0.35 m. W. 0.44 m.
  • Pentelic marble
  • Provenance: Kerameikos, Athens
Bibliography
  • Richter, G. M. A. (1961). The Archaic Gravestones of Attica, pp. 21, fig. 77-78, London: Phaidon Press.
  • Stewart, A. (1990). Greek Sculpture, An Exploration, pp. 120, 130, New Haven – London: Yale University Press.
Part of a grave stele of a discus thrower
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