Mann mit Blattkranz

This head of a votive statue, probably from Idalion, exemplifies the formal and stylistic changes which occurred in Cypriot sculpture at the end of the fifth century B. C. and points forward to the style of the next century. The head’s slight inclination to the right is a departure from the rigid convention of frontal depiction. The narrow, straight mouth with its corners turned slightly downwards conveys an impression of surliness by contrast with the archaic smile of the earlier style. The elongated, four-square face has a low brow, a strong nose and a wide chin. The large, protruding eyes are concave, the eyelids contoured. Over the forehead is a coarsely knurled roll of hair, above it a band with a stylized wreath of leaves. The short hair on the upper portion of the head is indicated by crudely incised lines. Traces of the original paint have been preserved on the lips.

A. Bernhard-Walcher u.a., Die Sammlung zyprischer Antiken im KHM. Sammlungskataloge des KHM Bd. 2, Wien 1999