Limestone head of beardless male votary
Unknown Artist
2nd century BCE
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
Overall: 10 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 9 in. (26 x 17.1 x 22.9 cm)
Classification
Stone Sculpture
Culture & Period
Cypriot · Hellenistic
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76
Accession Number
74.51.2799
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking limestone head depicts a beardless male vot from ancient Cyprus, carved in the 2nd century BCE during Hellenistic period. Measuring about 10 inches tall, it captures the youthful figure with a serene expression, his hair neatly styled and crowned with a wreath—a common symbol of devotion in religious rituals. Votaries like this offered sculptures as vows to deities, often Aphrodite, Cyprus's patron goddess, reflecting the island's vibrant spiritual life at the crossroads of Greek, Egyptian, and Near Eastern influences. Hellenistic Cypriot art blended classical Greek realism with...