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Liz Glynn — Battering Ram from the Punic War (Wrecked and Recovered, Egadi Islands)
Liz Glynn

Battering Ram from the Punic War (Wrecked and Recovered, Egadi Islands)

2013

Rendered in paper mâché and cardboard with acrylic and ink, this sculpture conjures the physical weight of ancient conflict through deliberately humble materials. The work belongs to Liz Glynn's ongoing meditation on historical violence, imperial ambition, and the archaeological record, here drawing specifically on the naval battle of the Egadi Islands in 241 BCE, the decisive engagement that ended the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Glynn reconstructs a battering ram, an instrument of siege and maritime warfare, from ephemeral craft materials, creating an object that is at once monumental in its associations and fragile in its presence. The tension between subject and substance is entirely intentional, asking how history is preserved, distorted, and ultimately fictionalized in its transmission. At 76.2 by 50.8 by 33 centimeters, the work occupies physical space with quiet authority while insisting on its own precariousness. Glynn, whose practice spans sculpture, performance, and installation, is consistently drawn to the mythology of power and the material evidence left in its wake. The Egadi Islands site was rediscovered by underwater archaeologists in the twentieth century, and that layering of recovery and loss resonates through the object's construction. A signed work originating from Paula Cooper Gallery, this piece represents a mature articulation of Glynn's conceptual framework, functioning equally as historical artifact, critical object, and sculptural form. It rewards sustained attention from collectors interested in work that engages archaeology, geopolitics, and the poetics of reconstruction.

Medium
Paper mâché and cardboard with acrylic and ink
Overall
Signed
Yes
Location
Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, NY

For Sale — $20000

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About this work

Liz Glynn, Battering Ram from the Punic War (Wrecked and Recovered, Egadi Islands), 2013

Rendered in paper mâché and cardboard with acrylic and ink, this sculpture conjures the physical weight of ancient conflict through deliberately humble materials. The work belongs to Liz Glynn's ongoing meditation on historical violence, imperial ambition, and the archaeological record, here drawing specifically on the naval battle of the Egadi Islands in 241 BCE, the decisive engagement that ended the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Glynn reconstructs a battering ram, an instrument of siege and maritime warfare, from ephemeral craft materials, creating an object that is at once monumental in its associations and fragile in its presence. The tension between subject and substance is entirely intentional, asking how history is preserved, distorted, and ultimately fictionalized in its transmission. At 76.2 by 50.8 by 33 centimeters, the work occupies physical space with quiet authority while insisting on its own precariousness. Glynn, whose practice spans sculpture, performance, and installation, is consistently drawn to the mythology of power and the material evidence left in its wake. The Egadi Islands site was rediscovered by underwater archaeologists in the twentieth century, and that layering of recovery and loss resonates through the object's construction. A signed work originating from Paula Cooper Gallery, this piece represents a mature articulation of Glynn's conceptual framework, functioning equally as historical artifact, critical object, and sculptural form. It rewards sustained attention from collectors interested in work that engages archaeology, geopolitics, and the poetics of reconstruction.

Medium
Paper mâché and cardboard with acrylic and ink
Dimensions
overall: 76.2 x 50.8 x 33 cm
Year
2013
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Paula Cooper Gallery, Manhattan, United States

Related themes

Mohn Art Collective

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