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 MBI, OM, XRF Raman spectroscopy
This fine white marble head and most of the neck are all that survive from a figure that would have measured approximately 45.0 cm high. Two-thirds of the top of head along the right side are restored. The head is lyre-shaped and slightly tilted back on the slender neck that tapers upward. It has a rounded chin, flat crown, and a long, wedge-shaped nose carved in high relief in the center of the smooth, slightly convex, facial plane. The back of the head is smooth with no visible incisions. Several small red dot particles, identified as cinnabar, are evident across forehead and there are very vague ghosts of hair on the back of the head.
Sandy MacGillivray, Dorothy Abramitis, Federico Carò and Elizabeth Hendrix
This fine white marble head and most of the neck are all that survive from a figure that would have measured approximately 45.0 cm high. Two-thirds of the top of head along the right side are restored. The head is lyre-shaped and slightly tilted back on the slender neck that tapers upward. It has a rounded chin, flat crown, and a long, wedge-shaped nose carved in high relief in the center of the smooth, slightly convex, facial plane. The back of the head is smooth with no visible incisions. Several small red dot particles, identified as cinnabar, are evident across forehead and there are very vague ghosts of hair on the back of the head.
Sandy MacGillivray, Dorothy Abramitis, Federico Carò and Elizabeth Hendrix
Artwork Details
- Title: Marble head of a figure
- Period: Early Cycladic II
- Date: ca. 2500–2400/2300 BCE
- Culture: Cycladic
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: Height: 4 11/16 in. (11.9 cm)
Width: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)
Depth: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Thickness: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm) - Classification: Stone Sculpture
- Credit Line: Leonard N. Stern Collection, Loan from the Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Culture
- Object Number: L.2022.38.37
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art