Torso of a Kouros
Unknown Artist
c. 550 BCE
Medium
marble
Dimensions
h. 62.5 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the Hanna Fund
Accession Number
1953.125
About this artwork
Known as a kouros, the ancient Greek word for a youth, this fragmentary statue belongs to a relatively rare type of large-scale stone sculpture made for little more than a century—shortly before 600 BCE to soon after 500 BCE. A nude youth standing with arms to the sides and one foot slightly advanced, the type probably originated under Egyptian influence, but then developed along entirely Greek lines. Found in sanctuaries as well as cemeteries across the ancient Greek world, kouroi may represent...