Stucco Statue

This head is almost certainly a fragment from a monumental, life-size sculpture that once adorned a throne room or public diwan of a royal court. Modelled completely in the round, the head was once richly painted with vivid polychrome paints. The expression of the figure is serene and placid, with the Asian features (a bow-like mouth, almond eyes) thought to be the height of beauty and fashion during this era. The figure - whose gender is difficult to determine, but is probably a male - is crowned with a soft-sided taj or toque, upon which pearls and ornaments are modelled in stucco additions. Surviving full-length examples indicate that such figures were often richly dressed in elaborately-patterned caftans, and held emblems according to their rank, status, or function at court.