Copper alloy (bronze or brass)

Cast

Human bust or head

6.83 cm (2.6875 inch)

4.60 cm (1.8125 inch)

4.45 cm (1.75 inch)

Mass (g)	Mass (grain)	Date of measurement	Reference	fragmented	cleaned	reference weight
332.48	5131.0006787151	-	www.getty.edu	No	No	Yes

Symbol	Technique	Direction	Position	Number	Synecdoche
Satyr	Shaped				Head
Maenad	Shaped				Head

A double herm of a satyr and maenad is formed of two half-heads joined back-to-back on a single neck, at the base of which is a shallow cavetto molding. The male head has asymmetrical features, with one eye set lower than the other, a deeply creased forehead, and a receding hairline. A pair of pointed ears emerge from between coarsely grooved locks of hair, identifying the figure as a satyr, a follower of Dionysos. His female companion has more regular features; at the center of the forehead is a short fringe of hair that falls in soft waves to either side of the face. Both faces have incised pupils and vertical incisions along the brow ridge.

The double herm was hollow cast in bronze and filled with lead, and is fitted with a suspension loop at the top, indicating that it served as an aequipondium, or counterweight for a steelyard scale. Similar to mechanical scales still in use, the instrument consisted of a tray for objects hanging from one end of a calibrated beam, along which differently sized weights on hooks slid until the arm balanced. Like the later weights found in great quantities at Pompeii and other Roman sites, Etruscan weights were carved of stone or cast in metal in the form of animals, human heads and busts, or mythological figures, as well as plain spherical and pyramidal shapes. Closely comparable to this counterweight are a pair of hanging weights (two maenads, satyr and maenad) from the Fucoli sanctuary near Chianciano Terme, dating to the fourth century B.C.

No

Language	Technique	Legend type

GREEK

3rd - 2nd century B.C.

Name	Date of acquisition	Inventory number
Fleischman Collection	Jan. 1, 1990	F247
Getty Museum – Getty Villa (Malibu)	Jan. 1, 1996	96.AC.133
Symes Collection	None

Reference	Page/Column	Reference (number)	Plate / Figure	Comment
True and Hamma 1994	180-181	84
Getty Museum 1997–98	65

Etruscan weight, Etruria.

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/29633/unknown-maker-weight-in-the-form-of-a-double-head-etruscan/