Amethyst head of Arsinoë II, Queen of Ptolemaic Egypt

Arsinoë II was a Queen of Ptolemaic Egypt, who also held the Egyptian titles of King of Upper & Lower Egypt, making her pharaoh.

Being wife of King Lysimachus; a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, and King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon, Arsinoë was also the Queen of Macedonia, Thrace, and Anatolia.

Through marriage to her brother, Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Arsinoë II, became ruler of the Ptolemaic Empire.

This head of a woman believed to be Arsinoë II, dates from around 300 B.C., and portrays the Queen with a golden veil draped over the back of her head, with her curled hair peaking through, typical of Greek dress of the time. Her face is carved from pure Amethyst, and she gazes outward to the left.

The piece was found in Egypt and acquired by Henry Walters. It is now on display in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 42.190.