Since its founding, works of original art, and copies, such as this plaster cast,  have been a crucial part of the Vassar College teaching collection. This figure likely depicts the river god, Illisos, and was designed to fit a triangular space on the West Pediment of the Parthenon, much like the image below.  The original now resides in the British Museum, and was removed from the Parthenon in the early 1800’s. As a representative of classic greek sculpture, this cast would have been an invaluable aid to the Art faculty of the time. For more information on the history of Plaster casts at Vassar, please see http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/collections-curiosities/plaster-casts.html