On view

Ancient Mediterranean Art

Standing male figure,

3rd century BCE

Egyptian
Ptolemaic Period, ca. 304–30 BCE
y1948-9

The survival of objects associated with the creation of art offers important information on ancient modes of representation and production that were employed by Egyptian artisans, whose identities and methods have not otherwise survived in the historical record. Molds could be used to make multiple iterations of the same object, as seen with the mold for a fish amulet, while small models offered a physical example of an individual, object, or animal that could be replicated by numerous craftsmen at once. Some of these are more schematic, offering only a rough approximation of a form, while others are more precise, such as the model for the head of a pharaoh, which features the proper proportions, marked out on a grid, on the back of the head. There also survive examples of practice, where similar animals or bodies were repeatedly carved into stone as their makers perfected their technique.

Information

Title
Standing male figure
Dates

3rd century BCE

Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
22.5 x 7.0 x 7.1 cm (8 7/8 x 2 3/4 x 2 13/16 in.) with block: 28.8 x 8.2 x 10.0 cm (11 5/16 x 3 1/4 x 3 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Carl Otto von Kienbusch Jr., Memorial Collection
Object Number
y1948-9
Place Collected

Egypt, Cairo

Place Excavated

Egypt

Period
Type
Materials

Apparently acquired in Cairo by Frank Tano; purchased by the Museum in 1948.