Limestone head of a bearded male wearing a conical helmet, Archaic II Cypriot statue — Limestone head of a bearded male wearing a conical helmet, Archaic II Cypriot, c. 600–551 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 74.51.2860.Open Access by the MET

Archaic II

Limestone head of a bearded male wearing a conical helmet

The smooth beard with a central incision and four curves delineating the end of each strand juts out sharply. The lips are stiff and the cheekbones prominent, creating a faint artificial smile. The ridge of the nose is broken. The almond-shaped eyes are bulging, with protruding eyelids; the eyebrows form a slightly curved band. Protruding from under the helmet in high relief is a row of curls. The helmet peak is mostly missing. The cheekpieces are not shown, but two cords are tied at the top of the head in a Herakles knot. A smooth mass of hair flares onto the nape of the neck. WebPub GR 2012 Cesnola: 14 1/2 × 9 × 13 1/2 in., 44 lb. (36.8 × 22.9 × 34.3 cm, 20 kg)

Classification

Object type: Stone sculpture
Material: StoneLimestone
Period: Iron AgeCypro-Archaic
Date: 600 - 551 BC
Place of production: probablyCyprus
Findspot: Golgoi

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Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

Sanctuary of Golgoi-Ayios Photios

References

Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. no. 243, p. 45, pl. VIII.10, 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. pl. XXXV.222, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1258, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Gjerstad, Einar. 1948. The Swedish Cyprus Expedition: The Cypro-Geometric, Cypro-Archaic, and Cypro-Classical Periods, Vol. 4(2). p. 100, pl. V.1-.2, Stockholm: The Swedish Cyprus Expedition.Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 10, p. 35, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Identifiers

Accession no.: 74.51.2860, Metropolitan Museum of Art
In catalogues: Doell 1873, no. 243
Myres 1914, no. 1258
Hermary 2013, no. 10

Photographs in the Archive

An older photograph of this object, matched by its numbers or by comparing the photographs. Each links to its record in the Archive.

Csn0395Limestone Proto-Cypriote, Pl. V -55%

Photograph: Swedish Cyprus Expedition, 1927–31. Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm, Csn0395. Public domain (CC0).

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