Object data
terracotta
height 30 cm × width 23 cm × depth 23 cm
anonymous
Head of a Man
? Northern Netherlands, 1700 - 1750
Technical notes
Modelled and fired.
Condition
The head had broken off at the neck, the joint or break has been filled in with cement. Damage to the nose, eyebrows and the hair has been partially filled with plaster. The rest of the surface has small amounts of damage. On the reverse there are remains of brick and cement.
Provenance
…; excavated in the dunes of Katwijk aan de Rijn, 1933;1 donated by Maria Louise Henriëtte Eerdbeek-Claassen (d. 1952), Katwijk aan de Rijn, to the museum, 1933
Object number: BK-14604
Credit line: Gift of M.L.H. Eerdbeek-Claassen, Katwijk
Copyright: Public domain
Entry
This terracotta head of a man was unearthed in 1933 when sand was being excavated from the dunes at Katwijk aan Zee.2 Remains of brick and cement on the reverse indicate that the head had at some time been built into a wall. It might concern a fragment of a sculpture, bust or herm figure originating from either side of a fire place,3 or from the façade of a garden pavilion or (country?) residence in Katwijk or its environs. The identity of the man is unclear. Apollo or another young god from Classical mythology comes to mind. Leeuwenberg suggested the fragment might be ascribed to Michiel Emanuel Shee (c. 1695-1739),4 who was working in the Northern Netherlands (including The Hague and Amsterdam) from around 1721. This Antwerp-born sculptor specialized mainly in kinderkens (little children) for gardens (cf. BK-1963-24). The few herm figures he is known to have made have classicist features (cf. BK-1957-A and -B). However, with its pained expression, heavenward gaze and bushy eyebrows, the style of this head of a man is far more in keeping with the late-baroque tradition which was emulated in the Northern Netherlands until far into the eighteenth century.
Bieke van der Mark, 2025
Literature
J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 388, with earlier literature
Citation
B. van der Mark, 2025, 'anonymous, Head of a Man, Northern Netherlands, 1700 - 1750', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20035822
(accessed 7 December 2025 15:19:42).