Head Wearing a Lion Skin Cap (Heracles?)

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Head Wearing a Lion Skin Cap (Heracles?)

Artist Unknown

Culture Gandharan

Title Head Wearing a Lion Skin Cap (Heracles?)

Date 5th century

Medium Stucco with traces of pigment

Dimensions Overall: 7 7/8 × 5 3/8 × 6 1/4 in. (20 × 13.7 × 15.9 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 83.20

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About this Work

This sculpture, now divorced from its original context, may be an image of Heracles or Alexander the Great. It could also be a depiction of a warrior, or hero, who sought to enhance his prestige by borrowing imagery usually associated with Heracles. Like many images made during and after the reign of the Kushan kings, the details are borrowed from the disparate traditions of India and the Greco-Roman west, which were introduced through trade and conquest.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Head Wearing a Lion Skin Cap (Heracles?) | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=83.20