The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Head of Alexander the Great

Head of Alexander the Great

300–200 BCE
Overall: 26.5 x 14.5 x 13.8 cm (10 7/16 x 5 11/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
Location: 102C Greek

Did You Know?

Portraits of Alexander the Great share his characteristic anastole hairstyle, parted off-center and swept back from the forehead.

Description

Slightly smaller than life-size, this head of Alexander the Great features a slight turn, tilt, and upward gaze said to have characterized the young conqueror's posture in life. After his death, Alexander was worshiped as a god; posthumous portraits like this one, likely carved in Ptolemaic Egypt, portray him with long hair and youthful, idealized features.
  • Dr. Edde, Alexandria
    Dr. Edde, Alexandria
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 32 archive.org
    Carter, Martha L. Classical Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1961. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 7; Plate 11 archive.org
    Neils, Jenifer. “The Twain Shall Meet.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 72, no. 6, 1985, pp. 326–359. Reproduced: p. 329, fig. 3 www.jstor.org
    Smith, R. R. R. Hellenistic Sculpture: A Handbook. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1991. Pp. 22, 210, 219, fig. 249.
    Lehman, Karen M. "Sacred and Profane Hellenizing Marbles of the Late Third Century Roman Empire: Secular Portraits and Religious Narrative Sculptures in the Cleveland Museum of Art Reviewed in the Cultural Context." M.A. thesis, Kent State University, 2004. Mnetioned: p. v; reproduced: p. 110, fig. 28
    Vandenbeusch, Marie, Aude Semat, and Margaret Maitland. Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art ; London : The British Museum, 2016. Reproduced: p. 170, fig. 111
  • Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-June 12, 2016).
    Alexander the Great. Florida International Museum, St. Petersburg (October 1, 1996-March 31, 1997).
    35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).
  • {{cite web|title=Head of Alexander the Great|url=false|author=|year=300–200 BCE|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.209