Head of a King

Object Details

• Description

  Head of a king (beard and one eye-ball missing; ear chipped; tip of crown broken off and replaced. Recent bruises on the left cheek and the crown.) Diorite. The right eye-ball is carved of fine marl, originally held in place by a copper hand, of which two small fragments (completely oxidized) remain.

• Label

  Whose portrait is this? The headgear and moustache identify the figure as an Egyptian pharaoh; the tall crown with the rounded top, known as the White Crown, signified rule over southern Egypt. Broken at the neck, the head originally belonged to a full, probably standing, statue. In ancient Egypt, such statues were placed in tombs to serve as eternal images of the deceased. Sculptors sought to convey the pharaoh's divine character, while also experimenting with realistic portrayals of the human face and body.

  Displayed in a museum case, this head resembles isolated portrait heads familiar in Western art--tempting us to think of it as a finished object. The original statue probably provided further clues to the figure's identity, perhaps including a hieroglyphic inscription naming the pharaoh. Details of the crown and face suggest that this statue was carved in Dynasty 5 or 6, the period following the building of the Great Pyramids at Giza (ca. 2500 B.C.E.). Few royal statues survive from these dynasties, making this head a rare example of Egyptian royal portraiture produced toward the end of the Old Kingdom (2675-2130 B.C.E.)

• Provenance

  To 1938

  Marguerite Mallon, Paris to 1938 [1]

  From 1938

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Marguerite Mallon, Paris in 1938 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file, undated folder sheet note.

  [2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (January 28, 2023 to 2025)

  A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (Teaser) (October 21, 2022 - January 2, 2023)

  Image of Power (January 24, 2019 - ongoing)

  The Nile and Ancient Egypt (December 7, 2013 to January 3, 2016)

  Facing East: Portraits from Asia (July 1 to September 4, 2006)

  Freer South Corridor (June 19, 2000 to July 23, 2004)

  Freer South Corridor (March 7, 1996 to September 22, 1999)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (March 6, 1981 to May 7, 1984)

  Art of Dynastic Egypt (December 15, 1976 to September 22, 1977)

  Centennial Exhibition, South Corridor (February 25, 1956 to October 27, 1959)

  Untitled Exhibition, Freer South Corridor (December 4, 1944 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Marguerite Mallon (died 1977)

  Paul Mallon (1884-1975)

• Origin

  Egypt

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 2000s

• Name

  Paul Mallon, Mallon, Marguerite

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Dynasty 5 (ca. 2500 - 2350 BCE), Art, Pharaoh, Portraits, Old Kingdom (ca. 2675 - 2130 BCE), Ancient Egyptian Art, Dynasty 6 (ca. 2350 - 2170 BCE)

• Culture

  Egyptians

• Object Type

  Sculpture