Riace Bronze Statue A

View of one of the "Riace Bronze" statues that were found in the sea near Riace in 1972.  This one is called "A" and both statues are about 6 ft 6 in tall.  This appears to be the "younger-looking" of the two statues.  He stands in a contrapposto pose.  Calcite was used to make their eyes while their nipples, eyelashes and open lips were made using copper.  The teeth of Statue A are made out of a single strip of silver.

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It seems that the statues were cast in the middle of the fifth century B.C.  It is not certain who the sculptor(s) was/were.  It seems that the bronze material is from Agros or Attica in Greece.  Possibly they were on a ship that sunk off the coast of Riace.  It is possible that the ship was carrying these statues to Rome or a Roman destination (as plunder?)—but no shipwreck has been found in the vicinity of where these statues were found.

They are now displayed in a climate-controlled room of the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio di Calabria.