Head of Ptolemy II
Description
<p>In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great freed Egypt from Persian control and made it part of his growing empire. One of his generals, Ptolemy Lagus, was sent to Egypt to serve as governor after Alexander's sudden death in 323 BCE. Ptolemy eventually crowned himself king and founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty. One of the early rulers of this Dynasty is represented in this elegant, life-size head. The Ptolemaic rulers were sensitive to the political needs of their diverse subjects. Therefore, royal portraiture is mainly of two types, one in strictly Egyptian style, like this head, and the other purely Greek.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/22.109' rel='external'>Head of Ptolemy II</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 22.109 tier-2
- Walters-id 12551 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- 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.