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© Bruce M. White, 2015.
Sculptor's Model or Votive Head
© Bruce M. White, 2015.
© Bruce M. White, 2015.
© Bruce M. White, 2015.
ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Sculptor's Model or Votive Head

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa
CultureEgyptian
PeriodPtolemaic Period, reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphos (?)
Dateca. 282-246 BCE
MediumLimestone
Credit LineAnonymous gift
Dimensions3 1/8 x 2 1/4 x 1 3/4 in. (7.9 x 5.7 x 4.4 cm)
Object number2014.040.001
Label TextThe purpose of this miniature portrait is unclear. Similar objects have been recovered from both sculptors’ workshops and temple settings. Those found in temples were likely dedicated as gifts to the gods and sometimes include inscriptions naming the donor. Royal portraits may also have been dedicated in honor of the king, who was worshipped as a god during the Ptolemaic period.

Because this example preserves the gridlines used to proportion the work on the back, some scholars have interpreted it as a workshop model used to teach apprentices how to carve royal portraits. On the other hand, the gridlines could simply be evidence of how the sculpture was made.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, November 1, 2023 - Present
Published ReferencesGalerie Gunter Puhze, Kunst der Antike Katalog 27 (2013), 87, lot 196.
ProvenanceEx coll. Antonio Martin Araujo (1905-1983), Venezuela, from 1960s. With David Ghezelbash, Paris, France, until 2012. Purchased by MCCM from Galerie Gunter Puhze GmbH, Freiburg, Germany.
Status
On view
Collections
  • Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art