Archaic II

Limestone male head

This carefully executed head is of greatest interest for the headgear. The familiar helmetlike cap has on it the body of a bird. The animal's head is just above the man's forehead, the wings extend to either side, and the tail ends just before the projection at the top of the cap. In ancient Greece and Cyprus, the integration of whole animals or expressive parts into dress or armor was a frequent occurrence. Herakles with the lionskin is perhaps the foremost example. The priest, 74.51.2466, has a bull's head at the top of the cap. One wonders whether the individual depicted here was mortal or whether, conceivably, he might represent a special variant of Hermes, the messenger god whose travels were expedited by his winged shoes and cap. WebPub GR 2012 Cesnola: 17 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 12 1/2 in., 47 lb. (44.5 × 21.6 × 31.8 cm)

Date

525 - 500 BC

Accession No.

74.51.2848

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

Sanctuary of Golgoi-Ayios Photios

References

Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. no. 235, p. 45, pl. VIII.11, St. Petersburg: L’Académie Impérial des Sciences.Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1885. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 1. LIX.404, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1284, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 174, p. 111, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Jacqueline. 2002. "Royaume et Sanctuaire a Palaepaphos." Cahier du Centre D'etudes Chypriotes, 32. p. 166, fig. 4a.Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 23, pp. 45-6, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.