GrB041
Hellenistic bronze head of Alexander the Great.
2nd-1st century BC
H. 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.)
Perfect condition. Originally gilded, with minor remains. Rich reddish-brown and green patina.
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The head of Alexander is depicted as a handsome young man with oblong face, straight nose, large almond shaped eyes with incised irises and pupils, straight mouth with full lips, heavy jaws and narrow chin. The hair is set with long S shaped locks, framing the face, tied with a fillet.
Alexander, King of Macedonia, 336-323 BC, was the great conqueror and a divine hero. The head is modeled in the traditional way, following Alexander’s portrait bronze sculpture made by Lysippus in the 4th century BC. It is in idealized style, and the fillet is the royal diadem of the Hellenistic king. The modeling of the large hair locks, imitating leonine locks, reminding of the lion skin attribute of Herakles, anastole in Greek, is one of the prominent characteristics of the head of Alexander.
The modeling of the eyes in the cameo-like way, diagonally set, is typical to Hellenistic kings’ portraits.
The head is missing the neck, but it could be assumed that it was turned slightly to the viewer, as in the other depictions of Alexander.
Cf. Yaloris, N., 1980, pp. 101-102, cat. no. 6-9, color plates 2-4.
Supp. to the cat, Royal Ontario Museum, 1983, p. 9, no. S-9.
Smith, R.R.R., 1991, figs. 249, 288.
Yaloris, N., The Search for Alexander. An Exhibition. Exh. cat., Boston, 1980.
The Search for Alexander. Supplement to the Catalogue, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1983.
Smith, R.R.R., Hellenistic Sculpture, Thames and Hudson, London 1991.
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