A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF THE EMPRESS FAUSTINA THE ELDER
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF THE EMPRESS FAUSTINA THE ELDER
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF THE EMPRESS FAUSTINA THE ELDER
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A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF THE EMPRESS FAUSTINA THE ELDER

REIGN OF ANTONINUS PIUS, 138-161 A.D.

Details
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF THE EMPRESS FAUSTINA THE ELDER
REIGN OF ANTONINUS PIUS, 138-161 A.D.
6 3/8 in. (16.1 cm.) high
Provenance
with Bernard Blondeel, Paris and Antwerp.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 1999.

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon
Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

Lot Essay

Portraits of Faustina the Elder, the wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius, are characterized by an oval face with almond-shaped eyes, a slightly hooked nose, rounded lips and a fleshy chin (see pp. 277-279 in D.E.E. Kleiner, Roman Sculpture). With her center-parted wavy hair terminating in a plaited coil at the crown of her head, this example compares favorably with Faustina’s first portrait type, which was most probably conceived during her lifetime. For a similar example, see the portrait in Schloss Erbach, no. 30 in K. Fittschen, Katalog der antiken Skulpturen in Schloss Erbach. The roughly-hewn backside indicates that Faustina’s coiffure was completed with painted stucco.

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