6th century B.C. Standing erect on a square base wearing an ankle-length robe with mantle with segmented edge draped from the left shoulder, left arm straight at his side right arm bent and fist clenched at the breast; hair cut in a bobbed style with frontal band, collected in a Near-Eastern head-cloth falling down his back; bare feet with toes emphasised; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. Museum of Fine Art Boston, Art of ancient Cyprus, Boston, 1972, figs.35, 37,43; Spiteris, T., The art of Cyprus, London, 1970, fig.p.169; Morris, D., The Art of Ancient Cyprus, Oxford,1985; Karageorghis,V., Early Cyprus, Crossroads of Mediterranean, Los Angeles/Milano, 2002. 7.3 kg 55.5 cm including stand (22 in.).

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12046-217199.

The sculpture is a good example of the mixed Near Eastern and Attic Ionian styles reflected in Cypriot sculpture. Cypriot art was often influenced by both Greek and Near Eastern styles, although in phase H of the archaic period (680-400 B.C.) the Greek influence became stronger, perhaps as a result of intensified trade and political contacts between the continent, Ionia and the Aegean islands. [No Reserve]