Framed Charcoal and Pastel Portrait of a Young Monk or Shaven-Haired Youth

This item is an original portrait, likely executed in charcoal, graphite, or conte crayon with subtle pastel highlights on a heavily textured, mottled paper or board. The subject is a youth with a shaven head shown in three-quarter profile, wearing draped clothing suggestive of a Buddhist monk's robe or traditional Southeast Asian attire. The artwork displays a skilled hand with significant attention to anatomical shading and a soft, meditative expression. The background has a complex, distressed texture with earthy tan and grey tones, which appears intentional to create an aged or 'fresco-like' aesthetic. A signature is visible in the lower right corner in a stylized script, possibly accompanied by a '74' or '94' date stamp, though the exact name requires further calligraphic analysis. The piece is housed in a mid-century style wooden frame with a beveled profile and a thin inner gold-tone metallic fillet. Condition-wise, the artwork shows visible foxing and surface staining throughout the background, which may be part of the original medium or later environmental exposure. The wooden frame has minor scuffs at the corners and general surface wear consistent with age. The craftsmanship suggests a professional artist working in a mid-to-late 20th-century realism or romanticism style.