Portrait of the Greek orator Demosthenes (384-322 BC)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
c. 1810 - 1830
Materials
Plaster
Measurements
65 x 45 cm
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 852219
Summary
Sculpture, plaster; portrait of Demosthenes (384-322 BC); after an antique model; probably London, c. 1810-30. This is one of four busts in the Library at Ickworth that were probably supplied around the time of the installation in 1829, by the firm of Banting, France and Co., of a set of tall rosewood bookcases. The four busts depict historical, literary and political figures from the ancient world: Alexander the Great, the Greek orator Demosthenes, the poet Homer and the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. The four busts are all different in form and facture so are not the products of a single workshop. Demosthenes was a statesman and orator who lived in Athens when it was an independent city state. Regarded as the greatest of Greek orators or public speakers, Demosthenes is particularly known for the speeches known as Philippics, devised and delivered by him as part of his campaign over many years to persuade the Athenians to rearm and prepare to defend themselves against the expansionist policies of King Philip II of Macedon (382-336 BC) and his son Alexander III, ‘Alexander the Great’ (356-323 BC). Ironically, the busts of Alexander and his enemy Demosthenes are placed on adjacent bookcases in the Library at Ickworth.
Full description
A portrait bust in plaster depicting the Greek statesman and orator Demosthenes (384-322 B.C.). He is shown bearded and facing forward, an intent expression on his face. The bust is cut square and is mounted on a smallish waisted circular socle. An Athenian citizen, Demosthenes is regarded as the greatest of Greek orators, whose speeches provide invaluable information on political, economic and social aspects of life in Athens in the 4th century B.C. It was because Demosthenes apparently had a weak physique that he was unable to undertake the usual Greek gymnastic education, so instead chose to train himself as an orator. According to the Greek writer Plutarch, in order to school his voice for public oratory, Demosthenes built himself an underground study, shaving off all his hair on one side of his head, so that he was forced to stay immured in his underground room, away from public view. Plutarch also wrote that Demosthenes suffered from a speech impediment, ‘an inarticulate and stammering pronunciation’. With great struggles he succeeded in overcoming this, by speaking with pebbles in his mouth and reciting verses when running or out of breath. Demosthenes made himself a career by writing speeches on behalf of wealthy Athenian citizens, but also delivered his own addresses to the Athenian Assembly, which consisted of up to as many as 6,000 Athenian male citizens. He is famous for the brilliance of these addresses, which handle complex issues with consummate and well-informed skill. Demosthenes became best known for the speeches made by him over some three decades , which sought to convince his fellow-citizens of the danger to Athens from the aggressive expansionist policies of King Philip II of Macedon (382-336 BC) and his son Alexander III, known as ‘Alexander the Great’ (356-323 BC). His speeches warning of the dangers to Athens that Philip posed became known as his Philippics. Whereas Philip eventually agreed not to invade Athens, Alexander threatened to do so before turning his attention to his campaigns in Africa and Asia. After Alexander’s death in 323, his regent and general Antipater however marched on Athens. Trying to flee from Antipater’s soldiers, Demosthenes took his own life. The bust at Ickworth seems to have been cast from a marble bust in the British Museum (Inv. 1973,0303.2), a Roman copy of a Greek statue by Polyeuktos erected in the marketplace in Athens around 280 BC. Several Roman copies survive of this portrait, which has been described as the first psychological portrait to have been made. The portrait of Demosthenes at Ickworth is one of four busts of ancient literary or historic figures that, with the exception of the Cicero, were no doubt acquired specifically to sit atop the enormous rosewood bookcases supplied in 1829 for the new Library by the firm of Banting, France and Co. The other busts depict Alexander the Great (NT 852218), the poet Homer (NT 852220) and Marcus Tullius Cicero (NT 852221). The busts are quite disparate as regards their socles and, so far as can be seen from below, their modelling, so they were cannot have been made as a set or even in the same workshops. The choice of subjects does though suggest some forethought. Demosthenes and Cicero represent the power of language, as well as politics, in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds respectively. Alexander the Great and Homer on the other hand were included as symbols of the twin powers of history and literature. There may be some deliberate irony in the juxtaposition next to one another in the Library, of the sworn enemies Alexander and Demosthenes. Jeremy Warren November 2025
Provenance
Part of the Bristol Collection. The house and contents were acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to the National Trust in 1956.
Makers and roles
British (English) School, sculptor