Cleveland Museum of Art

Inlay: Head of a King

Date

380–246 BCE

Medium

red jasper

Culture

Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)

Department

Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This miniature carved stone profile depicts a left-facing Egyptian king. The inlay was once part of a larger scene, with a cutaway on the king’s head clearly leaving room for an Egyptian crown and the neckline for a traditional broad collar. It is skillfully carved and made from red jasper, a semiprecious stone. The naturalistic handling of the cheeks and mouth date this inlay to the Ptolemaic period. An inlay such as this would have been set into a chest, throne, or even a royal coffin. Most Egyptian inlays are made of glass or faience, a type of ceramic, not precious or semiprecious stone like jasper.

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