DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15100#0025
7
PLATE IV.
HEAD OF ATYS.
The head here represented has been called, sometimes that of
Adonis, sometimes that of Atys, the peculiar cap in which it is
attired being common to both those characters. This head-dress
is however also worn by Mithraic figures, Trojans, Amazons, and
other personages of a Phrygian or Asiatic origin; it is there-
fore generally called the Phrygian cap. It appears to have been
formed of wool or some thick substance; in form it was some-
what of a long oval sitting in loose folds upon the head with
the point generally bent forward; the lower edge was fur-
nished with pendent flaps or straps; those at the sides gene-
rally terminated in a button or a string and were fastened under
the chin, at the back of the neck, or on the top of the head.
The bonnet on the head now under consideration" has one
broad flap behind descending quite to the shoulders, and on each
side a strap fastened by a string at the top of the head.2 As this
head-dress is common to so many figures, it is necessary to look for
some other characteristics to enable us to form a reasonable con-
jecture respecting the personage intended by the artist. The head
is slightly inclined forward, a faint, sad smile, not accurately ex-
pressed in the engraving, appears about the mouth, the eyes have
a downward look, and the general expression of the countenance
1 Compare a head engraved, Dumersan, Monumens de la Bibliotheque du Roi, &c,
1824, pL xi, xii.
2 A cap is generally seen upon the heads of the Dioscuri, Vulcan, Ulysses, and sea-
faring persons, but it is shorter than the Phrygian cap and fits close to the head.
PLATE IV.
HEAD OF ATYS.
The head here represented has been called, sometimes that of
Adonis, sometimes that of Atys, the peculiar cap in which it is
attired being common to both those characters. This head-dress
is however also worn by Mithraic figures, Trojans, Amazons, and
other personages of a Phrygian or Asiatic origin; it is there-
fore generally called the Phrygian cap. It appears to have been
formed of wool or some thick substance; in form it was some-
what of a long oval sitting in loose folds upon the head with
the point generally bent forward; the lower edge was fur-
nished with pendent flaps or straps; those at the sides gene-
rally terminated in a button or a string and were fastened under
the chin, at the back of the neck, or on the top of the head.
The bonnet on the head now under consideration" has one
broad flap behind descending quite to the shoulders, and on each
side a strap fastened by a string at the top of the head.2 As this
head-dress is common to so many figures, it is necessary to look for
some other characteristics to enable us to form a reasonable con-
jecture respecting the personage intended by the artist. The head
is slightly inclined forward, a faint, sad smile, not accurately ex-
pressed in the engraving, appears about the mouth, the eyes have
a downward look, and the general expression of the countenance
1 Compare a head engraved, Dumersan, Monumens de la Bibliotheque du Roi, &c,
1824, pL xi, xii.
2 A cap is generally seen upon the heads of the Dioscuri, Vulcan, Ulysses, and sea-
faring persons, but it is shorter than the Phrygian cap and fits close to the head.