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Statuette of Alexander Ktistes from Alexandria
Unknown · 2nd century AD
Here Alexander keeps his head. The face is young and turned upward, the hair springing from the forehead in the famous rising lock, and over his shoulders hangs the aegis, the snake fringed skin with the Gorgon's face that marks him as the son of Zeus. His left hand holds the remains of an object, probably a spear, and the right arm was raised. The stone is local limestone rather than imported marble, worked in the front only, and traces at the hairline suggest that details were once inlaid or painted. The legs are lost below the knees, but the pose, weight on one leg, chest lifted, is clear.
Statuettes of Alexander as ktistes, founder of Alexandria, were made in the city for centuries after his death; this one was carved under the Roman empire, in the second century AD, and was found in Alexandria itself. Its cheap material and small size point to a private owner, a citizen who kept the founder at home or in a neighbourhood shrine, while the marble version nearby was a grander commission. The Louvre bought the statuette at a public sale in 1922.
Did You Know? Alexander raises his arm as if to hold a spear, the gesture of the founder marking out the ground of his new city.
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