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Head from a Statue with Magical Texts

Late Period
probably 360–343 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 128
Magical texts like those on the Metternich stela (50.85) probably covered all but the face, feet, and hands of the statue to which this fragment belonged. The statue would have stood in a temple where it could be visited by persons wishing to be healed. Inscribed statues of this type can almost all be dated to the fourth century.

A man well-advanced in years is depicted, his skin soft and marked by fine creases but his small eyes and his wide mouth still sure. Realistic representations are known from late Dynasty 26 and probably continued to be made during the Persian Period, although little can be assigned to that interval with certainty; thereafter they knew continuous popularity from the fourth century until the end of the Ptolemaic Period.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head from a Statue with Magical Texts
  • Period: Late Period
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 30
  • Reign: probably reign of Nectanebo II
  • Date: probably 360–343 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Basalt
  • Dimensions: H. 21.2 cm (8 3/8 in.); W. 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in.); D. 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989
  • Object Number: 1989.281.102
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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Head from a Statue with Magical Texts - Late Period - The Metropolitan Museum of Art