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Torso of a Kouros
Unknown maker (Greece), c. 550 BCE
Kouros is the ancient Greek word for a youth. This is the torso of one, made around 550 BCE. According to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the type was made for little more than a century, from shortly before 600 BCE to soon after 500 BCE. It shows a nude young man standing with his arms at his sides and one foot slightly forward, a type that probably began under Egyptian influence and then developed in a purely Greek way.
Kouroi have been found in sanctuaries and in cemeteries across the Greek world. They may represent gods, especially Apollo, or mortals.
The statue is incomplete, but the marble still has much of its finely finished and patterned surface. The fragment is about 62 centimetres high.
From the museum record
| Artist | Unknown maker (Greece) |
|---|---|
| Date | c. 550 BCE |
| Medium | Marble |
| Size | Overall: 62.5 cm |
| Museum | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| Credit line | Gift of the Hanna Fund |
| Accession number | 1953.125 |
| Licence | Open Access (CC0) |
Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art collection record. Facts such as dates, sizes and credit lines come from that record. The write-up above was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the museum record and standard references. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
