Getty Museum

Head of Sophokles Farnese

Date

1st century B.C.

Medium

Marble, burned by fire

Culture

Roman

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

A slightly over life size male head of a poet (Farnese Sophokles). Made from a gray marble, the head is broken at the neck. The figure appears as an older man with a high, prominent brow and a long, thick beard. The eyes are set close together within deep sockets. The slightly parted lips are nearly lost in the thick moustache and beard. The locks of the beard are comma-shaped with strands indicated by shallow grooves. The hair around the face is rendered similarly. The hair is drawn down from the crown and underneath a fillet, becoming thicker around the face and the back of the neck where it hangs in thick, doughy curls. The locks above the forehead are missing. The head has sustained significant damage. On the proper right side, the upper layers of stone have flaked away, destroying much of the detail of the head and face. The top of the head near the front has been similarly damaged. A large chunk is also missing from the back of the head. The nose is mostly missing and the proper left side sustains fire damage as well as damage from metal corrosion.

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