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Question: Why did the ancient sculpters cut off the arms when they made human sculptures!?
You know how you always see the sculptures of greek/roman people with theirs hands and arms cut off!? Why is that!?
I just find it interesting, and I wanted to know!.
Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
With all due respect, consider that ancient sculptures (the pieces themselves) are ancient!. Consider that civilizations do not last forever and are usually taken over by other civilizations and rarely is the take over peaceful or careful!.

As to the material- if you're talking about Greek sculpture, what we have left is stone!. Marble to be exact!. (Bronze was melted down to make weapons and defenses)!. Stone does not have a lot of tensile strength (meaning, it can't stretch out across a long unsupported distance without breaking)!. Arms and hands, especially in anatomical poses which the Greeks mastered, are usually not down at the sides like Egyptian sculptures!. Breakage across many millennia will ordinarily occur!. So it's not about cutting exactly, more about breaking!. However, in the case of some sculptures though there is a tradition of cultural mutilation in art but apparently not in Greek Sculpture!.

So, it's not that the ancient sculptors didn't complete their sculptures, it's that nothing really lasts forever!.

By the way, there are a few bronze sculptures from this time that are complete and they will give you a pretty good idea of how visionary and skilled the ancient Greeks were!. (So to the Romans but to a lesser extent as the Romans were more preoccupied with engineering and public works - no less visionary or skilled, just focused differently!.

Keep asking these questions!. Art History can be very fascinating and informative!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Hi!. They were not cut off!. They've been lost -- broken off -- over the years!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

They didn't!. The arms have broken off over the years!.Www@QuestionHome@Com