<em>Head of a Man with a Rosette Diadem</em>, 30 B.C.E.–14 C.E. Basalt, Height: 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 55.120. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 55.120_bw_SL1.jpg)

Head of a Man with a Rosette Diadem, 30 B.C.E.–14 C.E. Basalt, Height: 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 55.120. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 55.120_bw_SL1.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Head of a Man with a Rosette Diadem

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

The somewhat broad and imprecise carving of this idealizing head may represent a provincial style of the region of Dendera. It may also be a harbinger of the dramatic decline in private statuary that occurred by the late first century B.C. A rosette is symbolic of light and regeneration, and a rosette diadem sometimes symbolizes posthumous deification. However, here the diadem may be the insignia of a provincial governorship or a priesthood.

MEDIUM Basalt

Possible Place Made: Dendera, Egypt

DATES 30 B.C.E.–14 C.E.

PERIOD Roman Period

DIMENSIONS Height: 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 55.120

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented; before 1946, reportedly acquired by Elie Borowski; before 1946, reportedly acquired by Mme C. de la Haye; by 1946, acquired by Maurice Nahman of Cairo, Egypt; 1948, inherited from Maurice Nahman by Alexandra Nahman Manessero; 1953-1954, purchased in Paris from Alexandra Nahman Manessero by Jacob Hirsch; 1955, purchased from Jacob Hirsch by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Over life-size black basalt head of a man originally with inlaid eyes. Idealized face in archaizing style. Head encircled with diadem of rosettes (? crown of justification). Upper area of hair only roughly indicated; hair beneath diadem in from of conventionalized curls. Dull surface. Certainly from a temple statue. Condition: Eyes list, nose broken. A few rosettes lost form rear of diadem.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view on the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Head of a Man with a Rosette Diadem, 30 B.C.E.–14 C.E. Basalt, Height: 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 55.120. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 55.120_bw_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE front, 55.120_bw_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.