Image

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Egyptian

Head of a Man, 380-250 BCE

Now On View

Description

Maker

Unknown

Culture

Egyptian

Title

Head of a Man

Year

380-250 BCE

Medium

Basalt

Materials/Techniques

Materials

basalt

Dimensions

Height: 36.2 cm (14 1/4 inches)

Type

Sculpture

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund, Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund, Mary B. Jackson Fund, Walter H. Kimball Fund and Edgar J. Lownes Fund

Object Number

85.093

Exhibition History

New Works from the Ancient World

May 23 - August 30, 1986

Ancient Egyptian Galleries

This basalt head is representative of the so-called "egghead" style of portraiture popular in Ptolemaic Egypt, characterized by soft facial features and a bald head with an elongated cranium. It has been suggested that these "eggheads" resemble the heads of infants, which may tie them to hopes for eternal youth in the afterlife.

This particular example was once part of a larger-than-life-size statue of a dignitary, most likely from a temple.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Head of a Man with the accession number of 85.093. To request a higher resolution file, please submit an online request.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.