Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head of a King of Judah

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Head of a King of Judah
French, Paris, ca. 1220–30
Notre-Dame Cathedral, west façade
Limestone with traces of polychromy
Musée National du Moyen Âge, Thermes et Hôtel de Cluny, Paris
Photo Credit: Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

Head of an Apostle

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Head of an Apostle
Upper Rhineland, probably Strasbourg, ca. 1280–1300
Sandstone
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cloisters Collection, 2004 (2004.453)

Head of King David

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Head of King David
French, Paris, ca. 1145
Notre-Dame Cathedral, south portal of the west façade (Saint Anne Portal)
Limestone
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1938 (38.180)

Head of an Apostle

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Head of an Apostle
France, Paris, ca. 1210
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Limestone with traces of polychromy
The Art Institute of Chicago; Kate S. Buckingham Endowment

Head of an Angel

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Head of an Angel
France, Paris, ca. 1250
Notre-Dame Cathedral (?)
Limestone
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Michel David-Weil Gift, 1990 (1990.132)

Head of Christ or an Apostle

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Head of Christ or an Apostle
France, Amiens, ca.1230–50
Amiens Cathedral (?)
Limestone
Private Collection

Head of a Prophet

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Head of a Prophet
France, Saint-Denis, 1137–1140
Abbey Church of Saint-Denis
Limestone
Musée National du Moyen Âge, Thermes et Hôtel de Cluny, Paris
Photo Credit: Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

Head of King Herod

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Head of King Herod
France, Chartres, 1210–30
Chartres Cathedral, choir screen
Limestone
Private Collection

Head of a Woman

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Head of a Woman
France, First quarter of the 16th century
Limestone
Private Collection

Corbel with Female Head

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Corbel with Female Head
Spain, Castilla-Léon, Frías (near Burgos), Early 13th century
Parish Church of San Vicente Martír
Stone with polychromy
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cloisters Collection, 1923 (23.110.56)

Misericord with Bearded Head

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Misericord with Bearded Head
England, Wells, ca. 1335–40
Wells Cathedral
Oak with traces of gilding
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, New York; Gift of Architectural League of New York, 1912 (1912–11B)

Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll

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Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll
Early Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire), Late 4th–early 5th century
Marble
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cloisters Collection, 1966 (66.25)

Bust of Marie de France

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Bust of Marie de France
Jean de Liège (Franco-Netherlandish, ca.1330–1381)
France, Île de France, Saint-Denis, ca.1381
Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, Chapel of Notre Dame la Blanche
Marble with lead insets and traces of polychromy
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941. (41.100.132)

Head of a Cleric

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Head of a Cleric
East France, ca. 1450–60
Red Sandstone
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1947 (47.42)

Capital with Four Heads

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Capital with Four Heads
South Italy, Apulia, probably Troia, ca. 1230
Limestone
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of James Hazen Hyde, 1955 (55.66)

Crowned Bust of a Woman

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Crowned Bust of a Woman
Nicola di Bartolomeo da Foggia (Italian, active ca. 1230–72)
South Italy, Campania, Ravello, 1272
Marble
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta, Collocazione Museo del Duomo, Ravello

Head of a Man

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Head of a Man
England (Celtic Tradition), probably 2nd–3rd century A.D.
Arkosic sandstone with traces of paint
Cleveland Museum of Art; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Hirsch

Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix

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Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix
France, Limousin, second quarter of the 13th century
Church of Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche
Gilded silver, rock crystal, gems, and glass, originally over walnut core with silver leaf and gesso on the interior.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.352)

Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger

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Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger
Germany, Munich, ca.1330
Polychromed sandstone
Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich; Gift of the Munich Master Stonemason Georg Westermeier in 1869