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Sabouroff Head

Sabouroff head is an important example of late Archaic Greek marble sculpture, dated to around 550–525 BC and measuring 23 cm high. Named after the Russian diplomat Pyotr Alexandrovich Saburov, whose antiquities collection once included it, the head has been in the Berlin Antiquities Collection since 1884 under inventory number Sk 308. Its exact origin is uncertain: it is thought to come from Attica or Aegina, though a origin in Caria in Asia Minor has also been suggested. The sculpture is notable for its unusual hair and beard design, especially the separate treatment of the moustache, which is rare in Archaic art.

Sabouroff Head marble bust of a male figure with textured hair, mustache, and beard on a stand.
The Sabouroff Head, a marble bust of a male figure with archaic facial features, displayed on a stand.
August 2016 © · CC0
Sabouroff Head sculpture of a male head in white stone with delicate features and textured hair.
Sabouroff Head shown as a white stone male bust with delicate facial features and textured hair.
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung / Ingrid Geske · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sabouroff Head, a light-colored sculptural male head with stylized eyes, a damaged nose and mouth, and short sculpted hair and beard.
Sabouroff Head shown from a slight front-right angle on a simple base.
November 2018 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sabouroff Head in light-colored stone, shown in profile facing left with textured hair and beard.
The Sabouroff Head shown in profile, with a textured beard and hair carved in light-colored stone.
June 2014 © · CC BY 4.0
Sabouroff Head, a white marble sculpture of a bearded male head with short textured hair and almond-shaped eyes.
Sabouroff Head shown as a white marble bearded male head on a pedestal.
March 2014 © · CC BY 3.0

Identification

TitleSabouroff head
Also known asLa Cabeza de Sabouroff
TypeGreek marble sculpture head of a kouros

Historical context

PeriodLate Archaic Greek period
Dateca. 550–525 BC

Physical characteristics

Height23 cm

Materials

MaterialMarble

Creator

Named afterPjotr Alexandrowitsch Saburow (Peter Alexandrovich Saburov), Russian diplomat and collector of ancient Greek sculpture and antiquities

Discovery and provenance

Former collectionSaburow's antiquities collection
Former ownerPjotr Alexandrowitsch Saburow (Sabouroff)
Original contextProbably part of a life-sized statue
Probable originPossibly Attica or Aegina; alternatively Caria in Asia Minor

Location and ownership

In collection since1884
Inventory numberSk 308
Current locationAntikensammlung Berlin

Appearance

HairUnusually designed for the period
BeardA common Archaic attribute and a sign of the depicted person's age
MoustacheRendered separately from the beard on the cheeks and chin, which is very rare in Archaic Greek sculpture and gives the head an exotic appearance
Overall appearanceUnusual
Portrait qualityStylistically closer to a portrait than any other surviving work from Archaic Greece except the Boxer Relief in Athens
Comparison workBoxer Relief in Athens

Technique

Scientific analysisAnalyzed from a plaster cast at Heidelberg University using a high-resolution optical 3D scanner and the GigaMesh Software Framework, with Voronoi cells and geodesic distances
Scientific findingsMeasurements showed asymmetry and a slight tilt of the head

Iconography and meaning

Interpretation of analysisThe asymmetry and slight tilt are characteristic of rider statues and may indicate that it was part of an equestrian sculpture

Significance

Stylistic significanceAn important representative of Greek marble sculpture of the Late Archaic period