Cypro-Archaic II figure
- Gallery: Room 69
- Culture: Cypro-Archaic II
- Made in: Cyprus
- Date: 580BC - 570BC
- Object type: figure
- Materials: alabaster
- Museum number: 1888,1006.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is the Cypro-Archaic II figure, a painted gypsum alabaster sculpture from Cyprus, dating to around 580 to 570 BC. Before you stands a nude youth, sculpted in the tradition of early Greek art. His arms hang stiffly at his sides, his fingers grasping small rods—likely a reference to Egyptian artistic conventions.
Notice the finely detailed hair, incised with a regular pattern of grooves, and the cord across his forehead that resembles a diadem. His face is elongated with large eyes and a faint, expressive smile. The figure’s posture is frontal—two feet planted, one slightly forward—while his body is long and narrow with carved anatomical features like the navel and a stylized breast.
Originally, the figure was brightly painted, with traces of red and black still visible on the face and hair. Despite some damage—especially to the legs and neck—this sculpture offers a rare glimpse into ancient Cypriot art and its Greek artistic influences.
See it in person
Cypro-Archaic II figure is on display in Room 69 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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