4 HELLENISTIC MARBLE HEAD OF A PTOLEMAIC QUEEN, PROBABLY CLEOPATRA II, ca. 185–116 BC. H. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm.) Ex French collection. She was a queen (and briefly sole ruler) of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I. She became regent for her son Ptolemy VII on her husband's death in 145 BC and married her other brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II "Physcon" the next year, whereupon Physcon slew his nephew/stepson and made himself king. In 142 BC he took her younger daughter, his niece, Cleopatra III, as wife without divorcing his sister and made his new wife joint ruler. 5 HELLENISTIC MARBLE MALE PORTRAIT HEAD OF PTOLEMY VIII, 182-116 BC, with strong features, the large eyes with prominent upper and lower lids, the broad nose with recessed nostrils, the mouth with jutting lower lip set above a dimpled chin. Ptolemaic Period, 2nd Century BC Ex American collection acquired in the 1950s-60s. Attributed by Rudolf Kanel; see his “Gruppen oder Typen? Zur Klassifizierung der Portraits von Ptolemaios III Euergetes,” in Numismatica e Antichita Classiche, XXXVIII, 2009, pl. II, no. 7.
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