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Marble head of Athena

ca. 200 BCE
Not on view
Restituted
This artwork was restituted in September 2022. It is no longer in the museum’s collection.
The dynamic movement and passionate expression of this colossal head mark it as a rare example of monumental art from the late third to the second century B.C., when an exaggerated baroque style prevailed in some areas of the Mediterranean. The goddess originally wore a helmet of marble or bronze, added separately. The ears are pierced for metal earrings. The head comes from an over-life-sized statue that possibly represented the goddess striding forward. The statue may have stood outdoors, as a monumental votive image of the warrior goddess in her role as protectress of a city rather than within a temple as a cult statue.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Marble head of Athena
  • Period: Hellenistic
  • Date: ca. 200 BCE
  • Culture: Greek
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: H. 19 in. (48.26 cm)
  • Classification: Stone Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1996
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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