Heads of Two Ptolemaic Rulers

after 2nd century B.C.

Medium

Asia minor marble

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-220410

Two small portrait heads. A: A male(?) head with sharply angular features. The face is thin with deep set eyes and a small, pursed mouth with a hint of an overbite. The nose projects from the forehead in a nearly straight diagonal line. The tendons in the neck are rendered with a particular prominence. Only the front of the hair is articulated, rendered in waves pulled back from the head; the rest is roughly worked. The figure wears a diadem. The marble is dark gray with a yellow patina. .B: A female head. It has larger and rounder than its counterpart (83.AA.313.A). The eyes are set shallowly in the sockets. The neck tendons are also prominent. Small drill holes form the ears, the tear ducts, and the corners of the mouth. Her hair is braided at the front and rendered with shallow chisel marks all around the back. She also wears a diadem. The marble is a light gray, large grained stone that now has a yellowish patina.