A CYPRIOT LIMESTONE HEAD OF A MALE VOTARY

CIRCA EARLY TO MID 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A CYPRIOT LIMESTONE HEAD OF A MALE VOTARY
CIRCA EARLY TO MID 5TH CENTURY B.C.
3 ¾ in. (9.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Luigi Palma di Cesnola (1832-1904), first director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1868-1873.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1873-1928.
Cypriote & Classical Antiquities, Duplicates of the Cesnola & Other Collections, Sold by Order of the Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Anderson Galleries, New York, 31 March 1928, lot 719.
with Kouchakji Frères, New York, acquired from the above.
Art Market, London.
Art Market, Germany.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2015.

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Max Bernheimer

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Lot Essay

The use of a foliate wreath around the head of male votary figures as seen here first appeared in Cypriot art in the second half of the sixth century B.C. and continued to be a dominant feature in Cypriot sculpture until the end of the Hellenistic period. A. Hermary and J. Mertens (p. 84, The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art) discuss how the appearance of the wreath at this time was both a “new way of expressing the piety of figures and their participation in cult activities” as well as “a reference to Aegean Greek models."

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