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Lot Essay
The androgynous face is framed by a double crown of short curls that conceal part of her forehead and fall down either side of her face in tight curls. On account of the absence of specific attributes, the identity of this enigmatic goddess cannot easily be ascertained. The presence of ‘Libyan’ corkscrew curls falling in front of the ears may indicate that Isis was intended. For a depiction of Isis with a similar hairstyle, see no. 268, p. 518 in T.T. Tinh, “Isis,” LIMC, vol. V. However, her foliate diadem could suggest rather she is the goddess Abundantia with associations of prosperity and fertility (see no. 832, pl. 453, p. 223 in. S. Reinach, Repertoire de la Statuaire Grecque et Romaine, Vol. IV, Paris, 1906).
Beginning in the Hellenistic period, sculptors began to glamorize the much earlier Archaic period by producing stylistically nostalgic works now called 'archaistic'. By the first century B.C., these archaistic types became widespread throughout the Roman Empire, reflecting Roman admiration of Greek artistic achievements, as well as demonstrating Rome's overtaking of Greece as the dominant political and cultural force in the Mediterranean. In this work, the sculptor alludes to the Archaic style by the manner in which the features have been carved. The curls have been rendered symmetrically, the face is rigid and frontal, and the almond-shaped eyes, which would have once been inlaid, are formed by sharp grooves. Emanuela Paribeni in A. Giuliani, ed., Museo Nazionale Romano, Le Sculture, I,1, Rome, 1979, pp. 308-310, suggests that an almost identical piece in the Museo Nazionale Romano (inv. no. 256893) can be attributed to the 1st Century A.D., due to the delicate contours and the sober use of the drill work in the hair.
Beginning in the Hellenistic period, sculptors began to glamorize the much earlier Archaic period by producing stylistically nostalgic works now called 'archaistic'. By the first century B.C., these archaistic types became widespread throughout the Roman Empire, reflecting Roman admiration of Greek artistic achievements, as well as demonstrating Rome's overtaking of Greece as the dominant political and cultural force in the Mediterranean. In this work, the sculptor alludes to the Archaic style by the manner in which the features have been carved. The curls have been rendered symmetrically, the face is rigid and frontal, and the almond-shaped eyes, which would have once been inlaid, are formed by sharp grooves. Emanuela Paribeni in A. Giuliani, ed., Museo Nazionale Romano, Le Sculture, I,1, Rome, 1979, pp. 308-310, suggests that an almost identical piece in the Museo Nazionale Romano (inv. no. 256893) can be attributed to the 1st Century A.D., due to the delicate contours and the sober use of the drill work in the hair.