Egyptian Man in a Persian Costume
Description
Object Label: Occasionally Egyptians wore foreign costumes and jewelry. The taste for non- Egyptian fashion arose during periods of extensive trade or diplomatic contact with distant courts, or when Egypt was controlled by a foreign power. The Persians, who twice invaded the Nile Valley from their West Asia homeland, dominated Egypt during the Twenty-seventh Dynasty (525– 404 B.C.E.) and the Thirty-first Dynasty (342–332 B.C.E.). This statue dates to the later period of Persian rule in Egypt. The long skirt shown wrapped around this statue’s body and tucked in at the upper edge of the garment is typically Persian. The necklace, called a torque, is decorated with images of ibexes, symbols in ancient Persia of agility and sexual prowess. The depiction of this official in Persian dress may have been a demonstration of loyalty to the new rulers. Caption: Egyptian Man in a Persian Costume, ca. 343–332 B.C.E.. Granite, 31 1/8 x 17 1/2 x 11 1/8 in., 134.26kg (79 x 44.5 x 28.3 cm, 296 lb.). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Brush, 71.139. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A front-facing, male sculpted figure carved in stone, shown with a heavy wig/hooded head covering and a draped garment over the chest.
The image shows an individual statue bust with a rounded, partially worn head and a stylized hair/hood that frames the face on both sides. The figure has defined facial features (almond eyes and a downturned mouth) and wears a collar and layered garment draped across the torso. The chest area shows a smooth field with shallow carving, while the lower edge of the bust is broken off/unfinished in the photo. No clear hieroglyphic inscription, cartouche, or legible text is visible on the front. There are no clearly identifiable deities or royal names. The overall surface is weathered with small chips and pitting consistent with age or prior handling, making fine details (such as specific costume motifs) difficult to confirm from this image alone.
Connections
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 71.139 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3807 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.