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Bust of Alexander

Ptolemaic–Roman Period
150 BCE–200 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130
This copper-alloy bust depicts what is perhaps Alexander the Great wearing an Egyptian striated nemes headdress adorned with a uraeus cobra, from which two ram's horns protrude. These features portray Alexander as Zeus-Ammon, the syncretic deity that combined the Greek god Zeus with the Egyptian ram-headed god Amun, here represented in royal attire. After conquering Egypt in 332 BCE, Alexander traveled to the oasis of Siwa in the Libyan Desert to consult the oracle of Zeus-Ammon. Greek sources relate that the oracle proclaimed the young Macedonian king the son of the deity, thereby strengthening his claim to rule Egypt. If the identification of this bust with Alexander is correct, it testifies to the endurance of his memory long after his death. Its thickly modeled eyelids and slightly downturned mouth are characteristic features of Late Ptolemaic and Roman royal portraiture.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bust of Alexander
  • Period: Ptolemaic–Roman Period
  • Date: 150 BCE–200 CE
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: H. 6.4 × W. 5.4 × D. 3.6 cm (2 1/2 × 2 1/8 × 1 7/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1908
  • Object Number: 08.202.52
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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