/internal/media/dispatcher/1016159/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailHead of Zeus350–340 B.C.Overall: 48 x 26cm (18 7/8 x 10 1/4in.)Marble from Mt. Pentelikon near AthensHenry Lillie Pierce Fund04.121This over-lifesize marble head, originally part of a seated or standing statue, likely represents a reinterpretation of the Olympian Zeus by a sculptor of a later generation. The symmetry of the hair, beard, and facial features impart a sense of tranquil gravity suited to this all-powerful divinity. Cuttings on the crown of the head suggest that a headdress, or polos, once sat on top.
Condition: The base of the neck is worked for insertion in a statue. The greater part of the nose has been restored in plaster, after the Zeus on the Hadrianic coin of Elis. Some chips from the base of the neck in front and from the locks of hair falling behind the ears are also missing. Incrustation has been removed from the right side of the face. There are two holes for dowels in the crown. The head was made separately for insertion in a statue, which was draped. The face was turned somewhat to its own right. At the left side of the neck is a small fragment of the himation which was draped over the god's shoulder. A depression running around the skull suggests that the marble head was encircled by a wreath made separately of bronze.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI255: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.63 / delta18O -5.81, Attribution - Pentelikon, Justification - Fine grained marble.Sculpture48.000000000026.000000000015104801