Head of a male youth wearing a Phrygian cap
Head of a male youth wearing a Phrygian cap
Datelate 5th or early 4th century BCE
Mediummarble
Dimensionsobject: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Bequest of Wright S. Ludington
Object number1993.1.88
Subject(s)
- men
- boys
- heads and faces
Collection
- Antiquity
Sub-Collection(s)
- Greek
On View
Not on viewLabel TextThe soft-cloth 'Phrygian' cap worn by this figure identifies him as a barbaros, a non-Greek-speaking person or foreigner. He is probably meant to be a youth from the lands east of Greece, perhaps specifically from Phrygia, the north-central region of Anatolia or modern-day Turkey. During the Classical period, such figures were usually found in relief friezes depicting battles between the Greeks and the Persians. The cap would have been an important element in identifying whom he was meant to represent.