Head from a Statue of a Worshipper

Place of OriginCyprus, perhaps from Golgoi (modern Athienou)

Dateabout 450 BCE

Dimensionswithout base: 14 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 9 in. (36.8 × 19.1 × 22.9 cm) (H x W x D)

MediumLimestone.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1958.15

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionA life-sized limestone head of a bearded male figure, carved in the round. The figure wears a wreath composed of leaves (possibly laurel or myrtle) and berries secured by a band over the forehead. The hair is rendered in stylized, wavy textured strands radiating from the crown and ending in three rows of snail-shell curls framing the forehead below the wreath. The beard is long and rectangular, arranged in vertical rows of spiral curls that terminate in small ringlets. The face features broad, smooth planes with almond-shaped eyes, arched brows, and a slight, archaic smile. The back of the head is fully carved, though less detailed than the front.

Label TextThis limestone head once belonged to a votive statue placed in a Cypriot sanctuary. Such figures were not portraits in the modern sense but stood in for worshippers themselves. By setting up a statue, a devotee ensured that prayers would be offered endlessly, even when they were absent.

Cyprus was famous for this tradition. Sanctuaries could contain hundreds or even thousands of votive images, arranged in rows around an altar or built into the walls. The stylized features of this head—a patterned beard, large almond eyes, and a wreath tied to the cult of Apollo—follow the standard formula that made all votaries look alike. Subtle variations in costume, headgear, or offerings signaled differences in identity, but the overall message was clear: a community gathered in perpetual devotion before its gods.

Published References

Art News, vol. 58, no. 4, May 1959, p. 37.

Guide, Toledo Museum of Art, 1959, p. 6, repr.

Art Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, Spring 1959, repr. on cover.