This kouros is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side, was derived from Egyptian art. The pose provided a clear, simple formula that was used by Greek sculptors throughout the sixth century B.C. In this early figure, geometric, almost abstract forms predominate, and anatomical details are rendered in beautiful analogous patterns. The statue marked the grave of a young Athenian aristocrat.

Said to be from Attica

Acquired October 6, 1931, purchased from Jacob Hirsch, New York.

Richter, Gisela M.A. 1932. "An Archaic Greek Statue." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 27(10): pp. 217-23, figs. 1-4.

"Editorial Comment." 1932. American Journal of Archaeology 36 (October-December): 381, pl. A.

Beazley, J. D., and B. Ashmole. 1932. Greek Sculpture and Painting to the End of the Hellenistic Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 20, fig. 34.

Richter, G. M. A. 1942. Kouroi: A Study of the Development of the Greek Kouros from the Late Seventh to the Early Fifth Century B.C. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 63-66, no. 1, pls. VI-VIII, figs. 19-26, XIII, fig. 42, XX, fig. 67, CXXXII, figs. 448-50.

Taylor, Francis Henry. 1952. "The Archaic Smile: A Commentary on the Arts in Times of Crisis." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 10(8): p. 223.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1987. Greece and Rome. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 14, pp. 9, 28-29.

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Coscia, Joseph, Jr. and Elizabeth J. Milleker. 2003. Light on Stone: Greek and Roman Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Photographic Essay. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 95, pls. 1-5.

Höckmann, Ursula. 2004. “Werke zyprischer Bildhauer im griechischen Naukratis. Eine Kourosstatuette in Oxford” in: Sepulkral- und Votivdenkmäler östlicher Mittlelmeergebiete (7. Jahrhundert v.Chr. - 1. Jahrhundert n.Chr.): Kulturbegegnungen im Spannungsfeld von Akzeptanz und Resistenz. Akten des Internationalen Symposiums Mainz, 1-3.11.2001, eds. Renate Bol, Detlev Kreikenbom Mönnesee: Bibliopolis, p. 63 n. 26.

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Mertens, Joan R. 2010. How to Read Greek Vases. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 46, 66, fig. 30.