The “Salt” Head

Known as the Salt Head, after the British collector and diplomat Henry Salt, this arresting portrait of a shaven-headed man is one of the more enigmatic works in the Louvre’s Egyptian collection.

The long, finely modelled face, prominent lips, narrow eyes and pierced ears have encouraged comparisons with the distinctive portraiture of the late 18th Dynasty, particularly the artistic world created during the reign of Amenhotep IV, later Akhenaten. Yet, its date remains far from certain.

The Louvre presently records possible attributions to the Middle Kingdom, to the first five years of Akhenaten’s reign, and even to the modern era, reflecting the unusual character of a sculpture which has resisted easy classification.

Closer examination has complicated the story further. Conservation research undertaken by the Louvre and the C2RMF in 2011 demonstrated that the object was probably not conceived as an independent bust.

On its underside are traces associated with its attachment to another sculpture, including the remains of a cut-down tenon; a series of drilled holes around the base of the neck has likewise been connected with the fixing or replacement of the head.

The Louvre study concluded that it had once formed part of, or served as an ancient restoration to, a seated statue. Evidence also indicates that the sculpture was restored and repainted again in antiquity, probably during the Ptolemaic Period.

These discoveries have strengthened the argument for an earlier date. The head’s life-size scale and remarkably lean, almost skeletal modelling find parallels in Middle Kingdom portraiture, particularly towards the end of the 12th Dynasty and beginning of the 13th.

On this basis, Christophe Barbotin and colleagues proposed that the Salt Head should be understood as a masterpiece of Middle Kingdom sculpture, subsequently reused and restored in antiquity. Other scholars, however, have continued to favour an attribution to the reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), or shortly thereafter. Among them is Geneviève Pierrat-Bonnefois, who has examined the Salt Head in the broader context of forgery and the difficulties of connoisseurship; her earlier study placed the sculpture within the first years of Akhenaten’s reign.

An Amarna possibility

Nevertheless, an Amarna attribution remains visually intriguing. The elongated eyes, softly projecting lips, pierced ears and elegant, somewhat severe modelling of the face can readily evoke portraits produced for the royal court of Akhenaten. Seen from certain angles, the Salt Head even invites comparison with representations of Nefertiti. This resemblance is especially interesting when considered beside material recovered from the sculptors’ workshops at Akhetaten, including the celebrated workshop associated with the master sculptor Thutmose.

Nefertiti’s Face: The Creation of an Icon, by Joyce Tyldesley

Thutmose’s workshop contained numerous studies, models and unfinished portraits of members of the royal family. The famous painted bust of Nefertiti, for example, was constructed around a limestone core, upon which layers of gypsum were used to refine and perfect the final modelling of the face and crown. Other heads and fragments from Amarna demonstrate an experimental sculptural environment in which parts could be separately fashioned, adjusted and incorporated into larger works.

The comparison is tantalising, particularly when the Salt Head’s own method of attachment is considered. Yet, the parallel should not be carried too far: the Salt Head is catalogued as painted limestone, and there is presently no evidence that it possessed the same extensive gypsum modelling applied to Nefertiti’s famous bust. Nor can a resemblance to Nefertiti establish the sitter as a member of her family. Amarna artists frequently imposed a shared royal and courtly aesthetic upon different individuals, making apparent familial likeness difficult to separate from artistic convention.

Amarna: A Guide to the Ancient City of Akhetaten

For the moment, therefore, the identity and original date of the Salt Head remain unresolved. A Middle Kingdom origin, an early Amarna or post-Amarna date, and a complex history of ancient restoration have all been proposed. Its resemblance to Amarna portraiture, its unusual construction and its echoes of works associated with Thutmose’s workshop offer fascinating avenues for comparison but, alas, they remain theories rather than proof. It is precisely this uncertainty that makes the Salt Head such an extraordinary survivor as a face whose remarkable individuality has endured while the name, age and world of the man portrayed remain elusive.

Summary:

Painted Limestone Head of a Man, known as the “Salt Head”

Possibly, Middle Kingdom, c. 2045–1680 B.C., or early reign of Akhenaten, c. 1349–1345 B.C. (Date is Disputed)

From the Henry Salt Collection. Musée du Louvre. N 2289; AF 575