[Vwoolf] Odysseus at British Museum

Wed Jul 31 06:46:30 EDT 2013

Michael Whitworth, who is editing “Night and Day” for CUP has kindly provided me with the BM link to the head in question:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=459636&partId=1&searchText=1816,0610.248&page=1

Stuart

On 28 Jul 2013, at 07:16, Stuart N. Clarke <stuart.n.clarke at btinternet.com> wrote:

  VW wrote Ulysses, rather than Odysseus (which is what he’s called in the Swedish translations of “Jacob’s Room”).

  The editors of the annotated editions of “Night and Day” and “Jacob’s Room” seem to have struggled with this ref.  J. H. Stape in the Shakespeare Head “Night and Day” (1994) says: “The head only of a middle-aged slightly bearded man wearing a conical bonnet.  It is not part of the Parthenon sculptures and may have formed part of a funerary monument” (p. 421).  Julia Briggs in the Penguin (1992) seems to imply that the statue in question *is* part of the Elgin Marbles: “among these was a head wearing a sailor’s cap, thought to represent Ulysses” (p. 438).  Suzanne Raitt (OUP, 1992) says it’s one of the Parthenon sculptures (p. 539).

  Sorry to bore you!  At last I’ve found it: Edward L. Bishop in the Shakespeare Head “Jacob’s Room” (2004) says: “described as the ‘Head of Odysseus?’ in A. H. Smith’s Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London 1892” – and he provides an illustration (p. xxxviii).  The head is wearing a conical cap, but doesn’t seem to have a beard.  He certainly is “battered”, and would not help any of us to recognise Jacob, even if the head “works” for Fanny Elmer.

  Bear in mind that the Elgin Marbles are not now displayed as Woolf would have seen them.  The BM says: “In the nineteenth century the term 'Elgin Marbles' was used to describe the collection, which was housed in the Elgin Room at the British Museum, completed in 1832, where it remained until the Duveen Gallery (Room 18) was built [in 1939].
  http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/w/what_are_the_elgin_marbles.aspx
  The Elgin Marbles are not just the Parthenon frieze:

  “The 'Elgin Marbles' is a popular term that in its widest use may refer to the collection of stone objects - sculptures, inscriptions and architectural features - acquired by Lord Elgin during his time as ambassador to the Ottoman court of the Sultan in Istanbul. More specifically, and more usually, it is used to refer to those sculptures, inscriptions and architectural features that he acquired in Athens between 1801 and 1805. These objects were purchased by the British Parliament from Lord Elgin in 1816 and presented by Parliament to the British Museum.
  “The collection includes sculptures from the Parthenon, roughly half of what now survives: 247 feet of the original 524 feet of frieze; 15 of 92 metopes; 17 figures from the pediments, and various other pieces of architecture. It also includes objects from other buildings on the Acropolis: the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena Nike.”

  In this modern digital age, it should be easy to find a contemporary image of the head, and discover where to see it in the BM – but I can’t!

  It seems reasonable to conclude that this head was displayed in the Elgin Room, labelled ‘Head of Odysseus?’, where Woolf saw it.  But more evidence is needed.

  Stuart

  From: Lisbeth Larsson
  Sent: Saturday, July 27, 2013 10:28 PM
  To: vwoolf at lists.service.ohio-state.edu
  Subject: [Vwoolf] Odysseus at British Museum

  Dear Woolf researchers, could anyone help me. In Night and Day as well as Jacob's Room Virginia Woolf mentions a statue of Odysseus at British Museum. However I have not found anyone. Is it fiction? 

  Lisbeth Larsson 

  Professor Dr. Lisbeth Larsson
  Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion (LIR)
  University of Gothenburg
  Box 200
  405 30 Göteborg
  phone: + 46 (0)31 786 4556
  Fax: + 46 (0)31 786 15 60

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