The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: statue
- Gallery: Room 21
- Culture: Classical Greek
- Date: 350BC (circa)
- Object type: statue
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1857,1220.232
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you stands a striking Classical Greek statue from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. This imposing figure, carved from marble, shows a standing male figure with a relaxed, natural pose. The head, with its well-preserved features, small eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard, appears to be separate from the body — a masterful touch of craftsmanship.
His left leg is advanced, with the right hip higher and the left lower, giving the statue a dynamic, lifelike quality. This figure wears a long tunic, a himation draped over his waist, and sandals. A painted sword scabbard was attached in the left hand, suggesting a heroic or military representation.
Though the statue was reconstructed from fragments, its original elegance and detail remain powerful. It represents a figure from the Hekatomnid dynasty, likely one of the honored rulers of Halicarnassus. The statue was brought to England by Sir Charles Thomas Newton following the 19th-century excavation of the ancient site.
See it in person
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: statue is on display in Room 21 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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