During the French Revolution all of the monumental Old Testament
kings decorating the portals of the famed cathedral of Notre
Dame of Paris were decapitated and presumably destroyed, as it
was thought at the time they represented the ancient rulers of
France. Until recently, this extraordinary head of King David
was the only known surviving head from this rich decorative
program. Carved of a fine-grained limestone from the area, the
highly expressive face of King David was originally even more
emphatic, as the eyes were intended to be inlaid with lead. The
head comes from the right-hand portal of the west façade
dedicated to themes of the life of Saint Anne, the Infancy of
Christ, and his genealogy. Carved around the middle of the
twelfth century, the portal was not installed until the early
years of the thirteenth century.