Greece, Alexandria or the Levant / 300–200 BCE
Head of a Foreign Warrior
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Head of a Foreign Warrior as sculpture (Greece, Alexandria or the Levant · 300–200 BCE).
There is a small notch below the cap's crest that likely held an attachment, now lost.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as marble with traces of paint.
The museum's collection notes: This miniature head depicts a man with wild curls that still retain their original red pigment. He is immediately revealed as a non-Greek by his carved mustache, associated with Celtic tribes, and cone-shaped hat called a Phrygian cap, associated with eastern peoples such as the Persians. During the Hellenistic period, various non-Greek peoples served as mercenaries or fought against the Greek kingdoms, and these foreign warriors were depicted extensively in art.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtHead of a Foreign WarriorOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.