Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: The Brooklyn Black Head

Want to add this object to a set? Please join the Posse, or log in.

The Brooklyn Black Head

During the Ptolemaic Period (332–30 B.C.), when Egypt was ruled by a family of Greek descent named Ptolemy, large numbers of Greeks moved to Egypt, where many served as government officials. We cannot know, therefore, whether this striking head, from an over-life-size statue, represented a Greek or a native Egyptian, especially since its striking features are a blend of Egyptian and Greek styles. The short curls, for example, are a simplified rendering of a Greek hairdo, and the large, deep-set eyes derive from images of Alexander the Great. But the facial modeling, with its folds and furrows, has many precedents in Egyptian art, as does the narrow, sharply outlined mouth. We may see here the beginning of a mixed Greco-Egyptian style, which was soon to disappear when the Romans conquered Egypt.

Medium: Diorite
Possible Place Collected: Memphis, Egypt
Dates: ca. 50 B.C.E.
Period: Ptolemaic Period
Dimensions: 16 5/8in. (42.2cm)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 58.30
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Image: Front, 58.30_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Related Audio

Head of an Egyptian Official

Download
Embed

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: The Brooklyn Black Head