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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Golden Headdress, Ancient Delphi, Greece, 2005
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17-SEP-2005

Golden Headdress, Ancient Delphi, Greece, 2005

French archaeologists discovered this sculpture, made of ivory, gold and wood, in 1939. It was hidden below the paving stones of Delphi's Sacred Way. A votive to Apollo, perhaps it is a figure of Apollo himself. I moved in as close as I could and shot this image through the glass case that protected it. The power of detail energizes the photograph. The 2,500 year- old face comes to life because of the eye staring intently at us. The swirls in the hammered gold headdress speak of the hours spent in crafting it. And the ravages of time are evident in the detail as well – we can see where the layer of ivory is breaking away from its wooden base.

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Phil Douglis20-Jun-2006 04:52
Unfortunately, it is very possible to make a bad picture of this beautiful art, Jack. If I had made a purely descriptive image of this sculpture, you would never have seen all of this detail. A descriptive photographer would be intent on "showing" what the entire work looked like. He or she would have backed away until the subject was framed in its totality, losing much of this precious detail in the process. If you look carefully again at this image you will see how severely I cropped into it with my closeup vantage point. My purpose was to define detail, rather than describing the whole.
Guest 20-Jun-2006 02:35
Almost impossible to make a bad picture of such timeless art!!
Phil Douglis28-Apr-2006 02:46
You are right, Christine -- after 2,500 years, it seems as fresh today as when it was crafted. It is the detail that carries the elegance and class you see here to the viewer. Gold is still considered valuable. A piercing eye and raised eyebrow is still considered thought provoking. Thank you for starting the comments on this image -- I was waiting for someone to give me their thoughts on it, and you came through for me.
Guest 28-Apr-2006 02:33
We can still see the elegance and class of the people who had it sculpted. The beauty is very classic, with delicate features that can still be considered beautiful with today's standards. This is especialy amazing when we consider that it was sculpted.
Christine
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