Head of an "Ethiopian" depicted in Hellenistic mode. Dimensions: h. 3.9 cm (1 9/16 in); w. 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in); d. 3.2 cm (1 1/4 in). Date: 332-30 B.C..All black Africans were termed Ethiopians by the ancient Greeks, and Greek artists had defined for them a distinct iconography well before the cosmopolitan Hellenistic period, when, especially in Ptolemaic Egypt, regular contact came about. (See the Timeline of Art History essay Africans in Ancient Greek Art http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/afrg/hd_afrg.htm)This beautiful head of an "Ethiopian" was created as an attachment for some luxurious object of Hellenistic Greek type. A gold plug remains in the top of the head, and on the back twin loops were broken away. Possibly the head was part of a richly ornamented serving dish: for example, on one elaborate dish from Pompeii a head with a loop and ring decorates the rim next to the handle. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.