Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore
Head of an Archaic Greek Kore

Head of an Archaic Greek Kore

SKU: HQ.0133

Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: Late 6th Century BC to early 5th Century BC
Dimensions: 6" Height x 4.5" Width x 4.5" Depth (15.4 cm x 11.4 cm x 11.4 cm) 12" Height with stand 
Medium: Marble

This under life-size head is carved in a fine-grained white marble, the surface of which has acquired a predominantly warm beige to slightly reddish-brown coloration. The head, which is carved in-the-round and broken off below the chin, is in generally good condition. The beautifully serene image features prominent cheekbones, gently arching eyebrows, and a mouth curved very slightly upward to suggest a hint of an “archaic smile,” which was a characteristic of the majority of male and female figures of the Archaic period of Greek art from ca. 570 to 520 BC. The almond-shaped eyes, which have rather pronounced upper and lower lids, do not bulge out as they do in many earlier Archaic statues. As is typical of Archaic figures, the eyes have no incised irises or pupils. The nose is relatively short, with a broad tip.

Over the forehead the thick, wavy strands of hair form a rather dense mass that frames the face in a slightly upward arching form. In front of both ears, carefully arranged undulating locks descend to form thick pads in an almost V-shaped pattern. Encircling the head is a smooth, wide, broad fillet, or tainia (band, or ribbon), above which the hair is consistently drawn over the crown in long, evenly spaced, slightly undulating narrow strands. Behind both ears the hair descends diagonally backward and is broken off and abraded at the nape of the neck, before it would have extended down onto the back of the statue.

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Phillips Auction, London UK, early 1990’s. Private Collection New York. Art Market, New York. Private Orange County Collection.

The coiffure is well preserved, except for a broken off mass of locks over the right eye and temple, leaving an abraded surface. Some degree of surface wear, including scattered pitting and abrasions. The nose has suffered damage, particularly along the bridge and tip, where the surface is roughened and lighter in color. There is a roughly oval area of damage on the right cheek, with smaller chips and abrasions around the eyebrows, lips, damaged (and now flattened) chin, and portions of the hair. The ears are well preserved. No modern restorations or obvious additions.

This head was almost certainly originally part of a complete female statue, presumably a standing draped kore (maiden) of the conventional kore types that dominated Archaic Greek sculpture as votive offerings to the gods or were sometimes used as grave figures. Because our head is of an under life-size kore, it was probably a votive offering.

For a similar overall example see B.S. Ridgway, The Severe
Style in Greek Sculpture (Princeton 1970) 34f., fig. 45. M. Meyer and N. Brüggemann, Kore und Kouros. Weihegaben für die Götter (Vienna 2007), 60 (cat. no. 47).

For the most accurate comparison of the hair style see B.S. Ridgway, The Archaic Style in Greek Sculpture (Princeton 1977) 93, 107, fig. 19; Karakasi 86, 100, 120, 133, pls. 167, 264; D. Sneed and E. Lawrence-Roseman, “A Dwarf Maiden on the Athenian Acropolis,” Art Bulletin 107.4 (2025) 67-89.

Write up, examination, and authentication report provided by John Pollini, Professor of Classical Art, Archaeology, and History USC | Associates Endowed Professor in Art History

G.M.A. Richter, Korai, Archaic Greek Maidens: A Study of the Development of the Kore Type in Greek Sculpture (London 1968), and more recently K. Karakasi, Archaischen Koren (Munich 2001).

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Head of an Archaic Greek Kore

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