A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF A WOMAN

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF A WOMAN
circa 1st century a.d.
Her head tilted to her left, with expressive, sad eyes beneath a knitted brow, the forehead creased, her center-parted hair loosely knotted in back
8 in. (20.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired by the owner's grandmother prior to World War I

Exhibited

On loan to the Ithaca College Museum in the 1950s and 60s; on loan to the Johnson Art Museum at Cornell University 1977-1996

Lot Essay

The pathos expressed by this head recalls that of Niobe in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, found in Rome in 1583. This sculpture, together with several others, are thought to by the sculptural group of the dying children of Niobe described by Pliny as being from the Temple of Apollo Sosianus in Rome. See nos. 137 and 138 in Havelock, Hellenistic Art.

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