Cypriot; Said to be from the temple at Golgoi
Limestone
H. 43 7/8 in. (111.40 cm)
The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 (74.51.2457)
Like most freestanding sculpture found on Cyprus, this male figure originally was set up as a votive gift to a deity. Most likely, it stood in the sanctuary as a continuous worshipper in place of the young man who dedicated it. The standing youth is dressed in Greek-style garments—a finely pleated, tight-fitting linen chiton beneath a similarly close-fitting wool himation (cloak) draped over one shoulder. He is bedecked with a wreath of leaves and rosettes, beneath which peek two rows of Archaic snail-like curls, not unlike those depicted on Archaic statues from the Athenian Acropolis. The modeling of the facial features, hair, and garments, as well as the slight Archaic smile, point to the influence of Greek sculpture on Cyprus in the late sixth and early fifth centuries B.C.
