Bronze Head, Archaic, c. 500 BCE. Bronze with green patina. 18 cm height.
Lot 015 · Sculpture
Bronze Head, Archaic
Unknown, Greek (Archaic Period)
Year
c. 500 BCE
Medium
Bronze with green patina
Dimensions
18 cm height
Estimate
NZD 65,000–90,000
A head of exceptional quality and rarity. The face is modelled with the characteristic features of the late Archaic style — the almond-shaped eyes with incised pupils, the slight upward curve of the lips that constitutes the Archaic smile, the strong jaw. The hair is rendered as a series of carefully chased parallel ridges that frame the face and fall in a mass behind the neck. The green patina is stable and of great beauty, the result of two and a half millennia of burial. This is among the finest examples of Archaic Greek bronze to have appeared on the market in recent years.
Artist
Unknown, Greek (Archaic Period)
The Archaic period of Greek art (c. 700–480 BCE) was characterised by the development of a monumental sculptural tradition that drew on Egyptian and Near Eastern precedents while developing a distinctly Greek formal language. Bronze casting — using the lost-wax process — allowed Greek sculptors to achieve a freedom of pose and expression impossible in stone. The present head, with its characteristic Archaic smile and the stylised treatment of the hair, belongs to the tradition of votive sculpture produced for dedication at sanctuaries. The quality of the casting and the refinement of the chasing suggest a major workshop, possibly in Corinth or Argos.