Marble head of a figure
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Technical analysis: Multiband imaging, optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
The head and neck are preserved. The sculpture is made from white marble with calcium carbonate and clay-rich accretions in places. The head is lyre-shaped and leans back coming to a flat crown at the top. A prominent conical nose is carefully centered on the face. Traces of red pigment identified as cinnabar are visible on the crease of the neck. Ghost images of eyes are faintly visible when examined with ultraviolet-reflected imaging: a pair as well as the outlines of non-anatomically placed examples above and below the proper left eye.
Seán Hemingway, Dorothy Abramitis, Federico Carò
The head and neck are preserved. The sculpture is made from white marble with calcium carbonate and clay-rich accretions in places. The head is lyre-shaped and leans back coming to a flat crown at the top. A prominent conical nose is carefully centered on the face. Traces of red pigment identified as cinnabar are visible on the crease of the neck. Ghost images of eyes are faintly visible when examined with ultraviolet-reflected imaging: a pair as well as the outlines of non-anatomically placed examples above and below the proper left eye.
Seán Hemingway, Dorothy Abramitis, Federico Carò
Artwork Details
- Title: Marble head of a figure
- Period: Early Cycladic II
- Date: ca. 2700–2500 BCE
- Culture: Cycladic
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: Height: 3 3/16 in. (8.1 cm)
Width: 1 5/16 in. (3.3 cm)
Depth: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Thickness: 1 3/16 in. (3 cm) - Classification: Stone Sculpture
- Credit Line: Leonard N. Stern Collection, Loan from the Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Culture
- Object Number: L.2022.38.28
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art