When The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in 1880, the Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Antiquities was the most prominent on display. The collection was renowned for its size and breadth, ranging in date from the Bronze Age to the end of antiquity. As the museum collections grew, the decision was made in the early 20th century to deaccession works that were considered duplicates or of lesser importance. The sales took place in several auctions as well as directly through the museum’s gift shop. Fortunately the entire collection was published by Cesnola in a series of fully illustrated handbooks. Many of the pieces from the collection were mounted on distinctive black-painted turned wood bases, some of which were emblazoned with numbers in white ink that correspond to the handbooks.
The mold-made head presented here depicts a goddess wearing a high, decorative polos and earrings. Close in style is a seated figure flanked by two attendants, also from the Cesnola Collection, no. 74.51.1589.