Modeled from a small terracotta plaque, this figurine belongs to a large group of statuettes known as “pappadès”, because of their polos (a high cylindrical hat) that makes them look like Orthodox priests.
Although conveying a certain charm, typical of traditional folk art rather than formal representations, this statuette shows highly stylized and naive shapes which do not totally lighten the strength of the rectangular block of stone.
This face certainly represents a male figure; it shows some of the distinctive features of the Greek-Roman images known as “grotesque”, such as the big aquiline and pointed nose, the strongly marked, frowning eyebrows and the wrinkled forehead.