Getty Museum

Head of a Man

Date

325–275 B.C.

Medium

Terracotta with white slip and polychromy (red)

Culture

Greek (South Italian, Tarantine)

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

The male head features a full and rounded face with distinctive features: a hint of a double chin, small sunken eyes set close together, a short, compressed nose, and downturned, fleshy lips. The face is framed by a dense thatch of short, vibrant curls held by a band. The leonine hair recalls portraits of Alexander the Great or the mythical figure Meleager. The head could be either a portrait or a well-characterized type attested in a number of heads of banqueters from the Early Hellenistic period.

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