Hellenistic Portrait of a Man in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, June 2018

Portrait Head of a Man (Primary Title)

Unknown (Artist)

Date: ca. 200 BC

Culture: Greek (Macedonian)

Category: Sculpture

Medium: copper alloy

Collection: Ancient Art

Geography: Macedonia, Greece

Dimensions: Overall (without base): 4 1/8 × 2 1/2 × 3 3/16 in. (10.48 × 6.35 × 8.1 cm)
Overall (with base): 6 5/8 × 2 3/4 × 3 3/16 in. (16.83 × 6.99 × 8.1 cm)

Object Number: 2000.82


This portrait head was once part of a statue measuring about thirty-six inches high. The now-missing eyes were made from another material, such as glass, and the lips may well have been inlaid with gilding or copper alloy. Separately attached bronze leaves once adorned the wreath (a fragment of one still survives). Comparison with coins suggests that this may be a portrait of a ranking Macedonian leader, perhaps even Philip V (reigned 220-179 BC).

Text from: www.vmfa.museum/piction/6027262-15926766