39. HEAD OF HYPNOS
Replica of Greco-Roman sculpture
(4th century BC)
Lawrence returned to England form his 1909 walking tour in Syria on board the RMS Ottoway.
He was by this time keenly interested in classical and medieval sculpture, and when the
ship called in at Naples he took the opportunity to see the bronze collection in the
National Museum. Afterwards he visited a local foundry which produced replicas. Most were
too expensive, but he managed to buy a slightly imperfect cast of Hypnos, the god of
sleep. It was a freehand copy of the Hypnos in the British Museum, itself a Roman copy of
a Greek work dating from the fourth century BC.
Lawrence took the bronze back to Oxford and gave it a place of honour in the bay window
of his study in the bungalow. He later wrote: 'I would rather possess a fine piece of
sculpture than anything in the world.'1
The whereabouts of Lawrence’s copy is unrecorded.
British Museum Shop (by courtesy of the Trustees)
Previous
