Head of an Amazon

Preserved is a head turned towards the proper left and tilted downward. The head is to be viewed from a three-quarters right perspective, indicated by the asymmetry and an attachment point at the rear break. The face is smoothly rounded, with facial features close together; narrow forehead, flat eyelids, small nose with sharp outer edges continuing into the brows, and slightly parted lips with the corners marked by small drill holes. The pupils are slightly lighter in color than the surrounding stone and raised, possibly indicating that they were originally painted. The figure wears a Phrygian cap; wavy hair escapes from underneath, and a scarf flies out from behind.

The head was originally identified as belonging to one of the metopes of the Heraion at Argos. The west metopes depicted an Amazonomachy (“Amazon battle”) and the Getty head resembles closely the head of an Amazon in Athens. The style and the workmanship on the Getty head differ from those on the Heraion heads. But whether the Getty head was carved as a deliberate forgery, possibly of the Heraion Amazon head, has not been definitely determined, so its authenticity as the product of an ancient sculptor remains questionable.