Getty Museum

Head of a Ptolemy

Date

2nd century B.C.

Medium

Marble

Culture

Greek

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

The head is approximately life-size and is preserved with a small bust for insertion into a statue. Some drapery is preserved at the left shoulder and there is a square dowel hole on the underside of the bust. The head turns and leans to its left. Part of lower lip, much of the nose, and a lock of hair over the forehead are broken off. The eyes and upper lip also sustain some damage. The rest of the head is quite well preserved, with much of the surface only lightly chipped and unweathered. The back of the head and hair are missing and would have been added in stucco. Diagonal grooves are cut into the back of the head and the underside of the bust. The hair around the forehead is mostly an unarticulated mass with some ill-defined locks at the hairline, where it is cut short and square across the forehead. The beard is executed in rough, but clearly articulated polygonal lumps and forms a thick layer around the underside of jaw and chin. The eyes are rather crudely executed with poorly articulated lower lids. Many of the facial features consist of sharp, simple lines. The ears are only roughly worked. There is evidence of secondary carving on part of the neck.

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