Head of a cherub
Unknown Artist
mid-18th century
Medium
Polychromed wood
Dimensions
Width: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
German, Bavaria
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973
Accession Number
1974.356.798
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection, this *Head of a Cherub* is a delightful mid-18th-century treasure from Bavaria, Germany. Carved from wood and vividly polychromed—painted in multiple colors to mimic lifelike flesh, hair, and rosy cheeks—this petite sculpture measures just 8½ inches wide. Its unknown artist captures the playful innocence of a cherub, a childlike angel symbolizing divine love and purity in Christian iconography. Crafted during Bavaria's Baroque-Rococo transition, when opulent religious art flourished in Catholic chur...