Archaic I

Neo-Cypriot Terracotta Warrior Head

Terracotta head from a statue of an almost life-size warrior with conical helmet, in Neo-Cypriot style; hollow, hand-made with modelled details; full face with a pointed nose and slight chin; eye-sockets defined by ridges, painted black; the slightly raised eye-balls are also emphasised with black paint; featherered eye-brows; the lips are painted red and show no expression; the ears stand out from the line of the face, the lobes are clearly indicated; the right ear is damaged, but the left preserved the remains of spiral earring; below the line of the helmet on the forehead is a row of curls with incised chevrons; at the back of the head on each side are two thick strands of hair with incised details, the black panel in between may be hair or a back-flap of the helmet; the helmet is painted red with side-flaps edged in the same colour; the knob-like point on the top of the head may indicate that the helmet was metal; the head is broken from the body at the level of the shoulder, but a raised ridge on one side represent, trimmed in red, is part of a garment or else a shoulder guard of some sort; the skin is painted in a buff-red colour. Dimensions: Height: 33.02 centimetres Object Type: statue Techniques: handmade; hand-modelled; painted