Face and Shoulder from an Anthropoid Sarcophagus

The rough, coarse surface of the original material revealed in the damage on this fragment stands in contrast to the magnificence of the highly polished basalt. In the later periods of Egyptian history, artists and their patrons preferred a shiny finish for stone statues and sarcophagi. The delicate shape of the face, the outlined eyes with slightly upturned eyebrows, the high cheekbones, and the full, smiling lips are characteristic of the Ptolemaic Period.