A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A WOMAN

FLAVIAN PERIOD, CIRCA 75-90 A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A WOMAN
FLAVIAN PERIOD, CIRCA 75-90 A.D.
Naturalistically depicted in her later years, with austere features including deep naso-labial folds, high prominent cheekbones and sunken cheeks, the thickly-lidded unarticulated eyes recessed below arching brows, her broad mouth with thin lips and a square chin, folds of aged skin sagging below, the elaborate coiffure arranged in three rolled tiers of locks above the forehead, ridged to indicate curls, and bound at the back in a basket-form spiral of thick braids
13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Private Collection.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 13 June 1996, lot 88.

Literature

M. Dayagi-Mendels, Exhibition catalogue, Perfumes and Cosmetics in the Ancient World, Jerusalem, 1989, p. 84.

Lot Essay

According to Dayagi-Mendels, op. cit., p. 78, "Among Roman women arranging the hair was a matter of great importance. . . .The hairstyles became complicated and intricate, sometimes to the point of exaggeration."

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