Head of Dionysus (?) for attachment, possibly for a couch
Description
Hellenistic head, boss. Ptolemaic Period, 332–30 B.C. ivory. H. 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.); W. 5.1 cm (2 in.); D. 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in.). Probably from: Alexandria. Subject: Heads. Credit: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.
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.
Carved, rounded sculptural head with individualized facial features and curly hair/wreath-like ornamentation, shown from the front.
The image depicts a small, circular/oval sculpted head in relief or free-standing round form. The face has heavy-lidded eyes, a stylized nose, and a short beard and moustache. Around the head are tight, wavy curls that wrap the sides and crown; the upper hair is carved in thick, layered strands, suggesting a decorative crown or vine-like headdress. The surface shows tool marks and worn areas, consistent with carved antiquities. No legible hieroglyphic, Greek, or other alphabetic text is visible. No cartouches are visible. The object appears to be an ivory carving (per catalogue), though the image resolution does not allow material verification beyond the catalogued claim.
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116252440 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 26.7.1301 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 551340 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
- 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.