Ask the Scholar

Document scope · 1 page
obj
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory. For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.

Source Description

A slight turn of the neck causes this figure to gaze to the right and slightly down. In antiquity, the deep-set eyes would have been inlaid—the whites would have been made of ivory or bone and the iris of glass or colored stone. This technique was used by many ancient cultures, though it was particularly popular in Egypt from the 2nd century BCE onward. The nose is broken off, and there is damage to the chin and lips. The weathered curls of the hair are surrounded by a fillet. Behind the left ear is a protrusion that may be a tuft of hair inspired by the so-called “sidelock of youth,” a traditional feature in representations of children in Egypt that typically appears at the right temple or behind the right ear, though examples of sidelocks on the left exist. The sidelock dates back to the Old Kingdom (2649–2134 BCE) but still appears in Egyptian art after it became part of the Roman Empire in the late 1st century BCE. Alternatively, the knob may be the remains of an unusual form of attachment to a relief. The uneven weathered condition, broken nose, and damaged lips suggest that the head was buried or submerged in water for some time.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
19251
label
Head of a Youth
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
19251
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Head of a Youth
description
A slight turn of the neck causes this figure to gaze to the right and slightly down. In antiquity, the deep-set eyes would have been inlaid—the whites would have been made of ivory or bone and the iris of glass or colored stone. This technique was used by many ancient cultures, though it was particularly popular in Egypt from the 2nd century BCE onward. The nose is broken off, and there is damage to the chin and lips. The weathered curls of the hair are surrounded by a fillet. Behind the left ear is a protrusion that may be a tuft of hair inspired by the so-called “sidelock of youth,” a traditional feature in representations of children in Egypt that typically appears at the right temple or behind the right ear, though examples of sidelocks on the left exist. The sidelock dates back to the Old Kingdom (2649–2134 BCE) but still appears in Egyptian art after it became part of the Roman Empire in the late 1st century BCE. Alternatively, the knob may be the remains of an unusual form of attachment to a relief. The uneven weathered condition, broken nose, and damaged lips suggest that the head was buried or submerged in water for some time.
provenance
Arthur Sambon, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1930 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
2nd century BCE-1st century CE (Ptolemaic or Roman)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
statues
fragments
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
20
height
14
depth
15.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 7 7/8 × W: 5 1/2 × D: 6 1/8 in. (20 × 14 × 15.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Ptolemaic or Roman
med
marble
creator_ids
3038
6191
collection_ids
GRC
ROM
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
49a5e40742e9b72f