History

In antiquity, funerary stelae were popular; they denoted a level of status because the stone had to be purchased and an artisan commissioned, but they were not so extravagant as to be beyond the reach of some people in the middle classes. Frequently, excavated stelae feature carved imagery and/or inscriptions relating to the deceased, and information about the deceased’s age, occupation, family, or status is not uncommon. Like this stele, they also often bear inscriptions indicating the name and geographic origins of the sculptor.

Battle acquired the cast of the Stele of Alxenor of Naxos in 1907. Sometime thereafter an unfortunate accident befell it, and it was shattered. Attempts to repair the cast are visible today through fine cracks, particularly around Alxenor’s elbow and the stele’s frame, and chipping of the patinate plaster that reveals the material’s white color below. Though the 1970s survey of the Battle Casts’ condition recommended the cast for restoration, including the addition of a supportive fiberglass lining, the level of damage it had sustained meant this recommendation was disregarded. Instead, the cast of the >Stele of Alxenor of Naxos was returned to storage in its fragile state.

The cast of the stele joined the Blanton’s holdings in 2004, and it remains in storage to protect it against further damage. Uniquely, its unrestored status means that it exists as an historical document preserving the dirty, damaged condition of the Battle Casts before their late 1970s intervention. The current 3D model created by the Blast from the Casts project captures this condition as a lasting digital document, while making the Stele of Alxenor of Naxos cast accessible to the public for the first time in over 50 years.