CIRCA LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN TERRACOTTA VENUS
CIRCA LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.
20 in. (50.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Antiquities, Sotheby's, New York, 20 June 1990, lot 72.

Literature

D. Levit-Tawil, "Queen Esther at Dura: Her Imagery in Light of Third-Century C.E. Oriental Syncretism," Irano Judaica IV, Jerusalem, 1999, figs. 14a-b, pl. XI.

Exhibited

Tel-Aviv, Eretz Israel Museum, What Did Queen Esther Look Like?, March 1999.

Lot Essay

The hairstyle of this terracotta is likely inspired by that of the Empress Julia Domna, who was known to have elaborately arranged her hair in a "helmet-like" coiffure with a large spiral plait at the nape of her neck. For a similar example, see no. 161 in W. Hornbostel, Kunst der Antike: Schatze aus norddeutschem Privatbesitz.

More from Antiquities

View All