The Nahman / Hendershott Portrait Head of Alexander
By Praxiteles ca. 300 BC

The Nahman / Hendershott Portrait Head of Alexander
Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon – ‘Alexander the Great’

Alexander the Great, Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.), King of Macedonia and Greece, was born in late July 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia. He was one of the greatest military geniuses in history. He conquered much of what was then the civilized world, from Europe to the entire subcontinent of Asia as well as Egypt and the Middle-East; driven by his ambition of world conquest and the creation of a universal world monarchy.

Alexander the Great Timeline

356 B.C.
Alexander is born on 26 July, 356 B.C in Pella to Olympias and Phillip II, the King and Queen of Macedonia. He had one sister named Cleopatra.

331 B.C.
AT THE AGE OF 25, ALEXANDER HAS CONQUERED THE KNOWN WORLD – On September 30 at the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander led his 47,000 Greek/Macedonian troops into battle and defeated the Persian army of 250,000 troops. 

323 B.C.
ALEXANDER WAS ONLY 32 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH IN 323 B.C.

He had conquered the known world and became the first world leader in the history of Mankind. Many of his Generals including Ptolemy remained in Egypt. Their rule lasted almost 300 years after Alexander’s death, culminating with Queen Cleopatra’s death alongside her lover, the Roman General Marc Anthony in 30 B.C. – Alexander’s 300 year empire then became a Roman world

A Graeco-Egyptian Marble Portrait Head of Alexander the Great, 3rd Century B.C. sculpted by the artist Praxiteles in Alexandria (Egypt).
Described as: the youthful head of Alexander the Great with short wavy fringe and long loose curls falling down over the nape of his neck, the sockets of his eyes deeply cut originally to have taken black onyx and stone inlaid eyes, with sensitively modeled ‘rings of Venus’ on his neck, traces of original light brown painted gesso on the curls of his long hair. Only two known portraits sculpted of him in Egypt exist. 28 cm high.

PROVENANCE:

Formerly in the Maurice Nahman Collection, a banker in Cairo and Paris (1868-1948), ink inscribed inventory numbers N2451 and M263.
This portrait of Alexander the Great was believed to have come from Hermopolis (the city of Hermes), modern day Ashmunein, where a temple in Egyptian style had been dedicated to Alexander the Great 
Significant Attributes of Alexander the Great portrait:
• The 'golden brown' stucco color of his hair.
• The inset eyes [one of only two examples like this known to exist].
• The Alexandrian 'Rings of Venus'.
• This portrait was made in Alexandria, Egypt in the 3rd Century B.C. by Alexander's own artists that he brought with him to Egypt.
• The portrait was collected during the 19th Century by the most famous collector of the time, Maurice Nahman [1868-1948].
This portrait descended through Mr. Nahman's family in France until acquired by Mr. Hendershott at public auction in London.