Statuette of a Ruler or Divinity

A muscular young man stands with his right hand on his hip and his left raised to hold the staff of a now-missing lance or scepter. A short military cloak loops over his left shoulder. The eyes of the figure have been inlaid with silver and he glances off over his right shoulder. His weight rests on the straight left leg with his right knee slightly bent, allowing his hips to sway to the left. This pose and features, like the upswept hairstyle and the heroic nudity, derive from portraits of Alexander the Great created by the sculptor Lysippos in the 300s B.C. For several centuries, sculptors throughout the ancient world imitated this Alexander type for representations of rulers, and even gods. Stylistic features of this statuette, such as the mitten-like hand with snipped fingers, suggest that it was made in Italy. The facial features of this statuette are not individualized, making it impossible to determine who the artist intended to represent.