Earth and Space News: Is Veiled Head in Cherchell Cleopatra or Her Daughter or Cybele Priest?

Summary: Does the veiled head sculpture in the Archaeological Museum of Cherchell depict Cleopatra or her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, or a Cybele priest?

A veiled head sculpture may depict Cleopatra or her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, or a priest of Cybele; Monday, June 18, 2018, full-face view of veiled head sculpture in Archaeological Museum of Cherchell, Algeria (formerly Iol [Punic: Iy-ḥol, "island of sand"; Greek: Ἰὼλ, Iṑl] and Caesarea, Mauretania): Hichem algerino, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Does the veiled head sculpture in the Archaeological Museum of Cherchell, Algeria, depict last Prolemaic Queen Cleopatra or her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, or a priest of fertility goddess Cybele?

The Archaeological Museum of Cherchell in Cherchell, Algeria displays a veiled head sculpture as inventory number 28. The sculpture's caption states: "Tête voilée avec oreilles percées pour recevoir des boucles d'oreille; prêtre de Cybèle (?). Identifiée différemment: homme (jeune Numide) ou femme (Agrippina / Cléopâtre Séléné). Découverte dans la propriété Constantin Said. Époque romaine impériale (milieu du 1er siècle après J.-C.)."

The marble veiled head sculpture was found in 1901 in Cherchell, according to Algerian archaeologist Mahfoud Ferroukhi (born in 1953) in "262 veiled head from a marble portrait statue," the second (page 219) of his two catalogue entries in Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth (page 219), edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs and published in 2001. The head had broken off from a "colossal draped statue" that dated to the first century CE, "perhaps made c. AD 1-50."

The sculpture exhibits a good state of preservation, apart from "hammering" on the left side. Also the nose tip and the mouth have been damaged. Oxidation from iron-made modern mount has reddened parts of the "fine-grained white marble."

A thick veil frames the face and accentuates the ears, which are pierced for earrings ("oreilles percées pour recevoir des boucles d'oreille"). The earrings apparently have been lost, so their design remains a mystery.

The veil's position on the head allows for displaying a portion of the depicted person's hairstyle. Thick curls create a mid-forehead fringe.

The sculpture has been identified variously as a priest of Cybele, "prêtre de Cybèle"; a young male Numidian, "homme (jeune Numide)"; or a woman, either Agrippina or Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, "femme (Agrippina / Cléopâtre Séléné)," according to the museum's caption for the sculpture.

Cleopatra Selene was the only daughter of the last queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE). Her father was Roman militarian and politician Marcus Antonius "Mark Antony" (Jan. 14, 83-Aug. 1, 30 BCE). Cleopatra Selene's mother also has been suggested as the sculpture's subject, as the sculpture evinces Cleopatra's "masculine character," Mahfoud Ferroukhi has explained.

The marble head of Cleopatra discovered at Villa of the Quintilii in 1784 qualifies "more or less universally" as the "one undisputed Cleopatra," according to British archaeologist and Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley (born Feb. 25, 1960) in Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (2008; page 60); Friday, May 9, 2008, 14:12, image of Villa of the Quintilii's marble head of Cleopatra, displayed in Museo Gregoriano Profano (Gregoriano Profano Museum), lower floor of Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums): Sergey Sosnovskiy (Ancientrome), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Yet, Cleopatra proponents have been concerned by the sculpture's dissimilarities with the queenly profile on her coinage and with the marble portrait found at the Villa of the Quintilii in 1784. The Villa of Quintilii marble head is esteemed "more or less universally" as the "one undisputed Cleopatra," according to British archaeologist and Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley (born Feb. 25, 1960) in Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (Chapter Two: Queen of Egypt, page 60), published in 2008.

Contrastingly, the curly fringe associated the sculpture with Alexander the Great, with whom Cleopatra sought to emphasize a dynastic linkage, according to British Egyptologist Joann Fletcher (born Aug. 30, 1966) in Cleopatra the Great (Part Four, Chapter 9 The Inimitable Life: Antonius and Conspicuous Consumption, figure opposite page 247; Part Five, Chapter 10 Goddess of the Golden Age: the Restoration of Empire, pages 263-264), published in 2011. In 25 BCE, approximately five years after her mother's death, Cleopatra Selene II (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη; "Cleopatra the Moon"; 40-5 BCE) married Juba II (Latin: Gaius Iulius Iuba; Ancient Greek: Ἰóβας, Ἰóβα or Ἰούβας; ca. 48 BCE-23 CE), a prince of the northwest African kingdom of Numidia. Caesar Augustus (Gaius Octavius "Octavian"; Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus; Sep. 23, 63 BCE-Aug. 19, 14 CE), first emperor of his newly founded (27 BCE) Roman Empire, gifted the newlyweds with the kingdom of Mauretania. The royal couple established a luxurious palace, themed with the new queen's Ptolemaic ancestry, in the capital, Iol, which they renamed Caesarea, reminiscent of Caesar Augustus and of his maternal great uncle, Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE).

The veiled head statue was commissioned by Cleopatra Selene to reinforce the Ptolemaic Dynasty's interplay with Alexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; July 20 or 21, 356-June 10 or 11, 323 BCE), known as Alexander the Great, according to Joann Fletcher (Part Six, Chapter 12 Epilogue: The Aftermath, pages 333-335). The sculpture in the Archaeological Museum of Cherchell bears a strong resemblance to a North African head of Alexander the Great in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, finds Joann Fletcher. The North African sculpture, dated to 150-250 CE, originated in Carthage or Utica, now modern-day Tunisia.

Interestingly, the curly fringe also adorned male portraits, according to Mahfoud Ferroukhi. The sculpture could represent "a togatus (man dressed in a toga) with elements of North African dress," a style observed by King Juba II as well as by his and Cleopatra Selene's son, Ptolemy of Mauretania (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος, Ptolemaîos; Latin: Gaius Iulius Ptolemaeus; ca. 13/9-40 CE).

The unusual draping of the cloth, which only covers two-thirds of the head, would have emphasized the earrings when they were in place. Numidian males, "notably high-ranking personalities or priests," accessorized their costumery with earrings.

Perhaps the question of the subject of the veiled head sculpture in the Archaeological Museum of Cherchell would be answered by finding the statuary's body.

Monday, June 18, 2018, profile view of veiled head sculpture in Archaeological Museum of Cherchell, Algeria: Hichem algerino, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

An abundance of curls emerges from under an elephant skin, adorned with ram's horns, atop the head of Alexander the Great; ca. 150-250 CE sculpture of curly-headed Alexander the Great, Roman copy of Greek original, from Carthage or Utica (modern-day Tunisia), in collection of National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Øresund Region, eastern Denmark: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_the_Great_as_a_god_with_ram's_horns_and_an_elephant's_skin_over_over_the_back_of_his_head,_Roman_copy_of_Greek_original,_from_Carthage_or_Utica,_AD_150-250,_National_Museum_of_Denmark,_Copenhagen_(12993297555).jpg; Carole Raddato (Following Hadrian), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolemage/12993297555/

Monday, June 18, 2018, profile view of veiled head sculpture in Archaeological Museum of Cherchell, Algeria: Hichem algerino, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_ancient_Roman_bust_of_Cleopatra_VII_of_Ptolemaic_Egypt1.jpg

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Earth and Space News

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Is Veiled Head in Cherchell Cleopatra or Her Daughter or Cybele Priest?

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