Shard: Head of Figure
Unknown Artist
ca. 4th–5th century
Medium
Painted terracotta
Dimensions
1 1/2 x 1 5/8 in. (3.8 x 4.1 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Culture
Pakistan
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Andrew Hale and Kate Fitz Gibbon, 1992
Accession Number
1992.256.36
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate shard, titled *Head of Figure*, is a fragment of painted terracotta from ancient Gandhara, a culturally rich region in present-day Pakistan, dating to around the 4th–5th century CE. Measuring just 1 1/2 x 1 5/8 inches, it once formed part of a larger ceramic figure, likely used in religious or domestic contexts. Now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Art Department as a gift from Andrew Hale Kate Fitz Gibbon in 1992, it offers a glimpse into the everyday artistry of a pivotal era. Gandhara flourished as a crossroads of Greek, Persian, and Indian influences following Alex...