Cleveland Museum of Art

Statuette of a Black African Person

Date

100–50 BCE

Medium

bronze, solid cast, with silver and copper inlays

Culture

Greece, Greco-Roman Period, late Ptolemaic Dynasty

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Characterized as a Black African person by his hair, facial features, and unusually dark patina, this figure wears a non-Greek type of hat and a simple garment associated with lower classes. His stooped posture suggests that he may have a physical disability, something rarely depicted in Greek art. His right foot and right hand (with bowl) are modern restorations done before the statuette came to Cleveland, perhaps in the 1800s. The intentionally dark patina contrasts with the inlaid silver eyes and copper lips.

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