Published Ptolemaic Limestone Sculptor’s Model for the Portrait of a King

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Early Ptolemaic Period, ca. 300-200 B.C.

Material: Limestone

Dimensions: 7 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 1585

Provenance: From the German collection of Prof. Martin Eduard Winkler (1893-1982), acquired in the 1950s-1960s. Published in: Dietrich Wildung et al., „Entdeckungen. Ägyptische Kunst in Süddeutschland“, Mainz am Rhein 1985, no. 136. Remained in the family collection until recently.

Condition: Fragment. A larger loss on the right side of the face appears to have occurred after the publication in 1985. A repaired break is visible in the lower section. Nevertheless, a high-quality fragment of a sculptor's model.

Description: A finely worked limestone head of a king that served as a sculptor's model. The face, with its almond-shaped eyes, elongated eyeliner, broad nose, and full lips framing the closed mouth, is already fully modelled. The block above the forehead, however, still preserves the sculptor’s measuring lines used to establish the figure's proportions. Instructional pieces such as this were used to study and teach the construction of the human face. Such training methods became especially widespread during the Ptolemaic period, when Egyptian artists increasingly sought to assert their traditions against foreign influences from Greece and other regions. Published in: Dietrich Wildung et al. „Entdeckungen. Ägyptische Kunst in Süddeutschland“, Mainz am Rhein 1985, no. 136. Newly mounted.