Head of a Man

The limestone head depicting a young man of high rank may once have belonged to a seated or kneeling statue as suggested by the remains of an inscribed dorsal pillar. The man is wearing a meticulously striated echelon-curl double wig. The rounded forms and soft facial features coupled with the gentle smile intensified by the firm lines at the corners of the mouth yield the impression of the sublime beauty of juvenility. A short false-beard on the chin suggests that this is a depiction of a person of distinguished status, and it is worthy of note that the sculptor did not remove the space-filler between the beard and throat. The original painting of the statue is no longer visible. From the two columns of hieroglyphic inscription carved in the dorsal pillar, only three signs have been preserved.