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Head of Youth

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Made by a Greek sculptor in the Egyptian capital of Alexandria, this head reveals characteristics of both Greek and Egyptian art. It has "macaroni-curl" Greek hair and was created in marble, a material favored by Greek artists. The eyes, however, are shaped like those of Egyptian-style works.

All the sculptures in this case are roughly contemporary, demonstrating the use of both Egyptian and Greek styles in second-century Alexandria.
MEDIUM Marble
  • Possible Place Collected: Alexandria, Egypt
  • DATES 2nd century B.C.E. (possibly)
    PERIOD Ptolemaic Period
    DIMENSIONS Height: 6 1/8 in. (15.5 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 63.184
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Marble head of a youth, idealizing style, suggestive of work of Lysippus. Hair arranged in conventionalized curls. Frontal short mouth. Preserved to base of neck. Fine work. Condition: Chin chipped. One area of hair (at back) chipped.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Head of Youth, 2nd century B.C.E. (possibly). Marble, Height: 6 1/8 in. (15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 63.184. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.63.184_view01.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.63.184_view01.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2021
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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