Marble head of a youth

Copy of a Greek bronze statue of ca. 450 B.C. attributed to Polykleitos

This head is associated with the statue of a nude athlete who probably held a diskos. The famous Greek sculptor Polykleitos sought rigorous, mathematically based proportions in his figures. "Perfection comes about little by little through many numbers" he is reported to have stated. His attention to the smallest details can be seen in the precise design of each lock of hair on this head.

Credit: Rogers Fund, 1907