Small head depicting an African man; Hellenistic Greece, circa 330 B.C.

Small head depicting an African man; Hellenistic Greece, circa 330 B.C.
Terracotta.
Provenance: private collection, Paris. Formerly in the Roger Khawman Collection, Paris.
Measurements: 5 cm high
Hellenistic sculpture represents the final phase in the evolution of Greek sculpture and developed during the period spanning the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. and the Roman conquest of Egypt, between 30 and 31 B.C. It is characterized by an eclectic, secular, and historicist style that builds upon the legacy of classical sculpture from the preceding period, incorporating new Eastern influences. It also marked a refinement in the depiction of human anatomy and emotional expressiveness, as well as a fundamental shift in aesthetics, moving away from the ideal to represent the individual, transitioning from the generic to the specific.