Royal head with an atypical snake and a headdress

Late Period–Ptolemaic Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134

The head is one of a class of objects referred to by the double designation sculptor's model / votive because they provide contradictory indications. However, recent research very strongly points to a ritual function for those that depict royalty in connection with royal hypostases that multiply in the last dynasties and the early Ptolemaic Period. The clearest indication of this is the down-hanging snake rather than the typical uraeus over the serene countenance, but the crown is a secondary marker.

Royal head with an atypical snake and a headdress, Limestone

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Royal head with an atypical snake and a headdress, Limestone
Royal head with an atypical snake and a headdress, Limestone

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