Head of a priest

myminifactory

This head caught the eye of international art enthusiasts at Paris's first major Byzantine art exhibition in 1931. German art historian Volbach played a key role on the scientific advisory board and had a close working relationship with Georges Duithuit, the exhibition's secretary. In the following year, Volbach teamed up with Georges Salles to publish a stunning volume featuring 100 masterpieces of Byzantine art, including this piece. Initially believed to be a portrait of an emperor, the head is now widely accepted as belonging to a tomb statue that once stood in a niche. The fact that it's a bald head strongly suggests that the person portrayed was a priest.