Head of a Kouros

about 530 B.C.

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

31 × 19 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-225702

Broken from a full-standing kouros (young man), this head preserves part of the curve of the shoulder on the figure’s left side; the right side ends at the bottom of the neck. Because of extensive damage, the features of the face and the long strands of hair can be read only in shadowy traces. Examination under a raking light, however, reveals that the eyes were set rather deeply, especially at the inner corners, slanting upward slightly toward the outside beneath arched brows. Vertical grooves that mark the corners of the mouth are also visible. The rendering of the hair is distinctive. A layer of short, fine hair swept back from the face over the temples and ending just above the backs of the ears overlays the eighteen longer strands that fall below the shoulders. The long locks are incised vertically and then divided horizontally with shallow grooves to create an effect of regular wavy undulations. The unique treatment of the hair on this kouros places it with examples from East Greece, which also feature a layered hairstyle with short strands brushed back from the hairline and over the ears. The Getty’s head may have belonged to a kouros produced in the region of southwestern …