Antiquities and Ancient Art: A Study

Sale 1035

Live

| Chicago

May 26 | 11:00 AM EDT

Live

| Chicago

Lot 205

A Roman Marble Portrait Head of a Young Lady

Lot 205

A Roman Marble Portrait Head of a Young Lady

Status:

Closed

Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000

Estimate$25,000 – $35,000

Status

Closed

A Roman Marble Portrait Head of a Young Lady

Antonine Period, Circa 150-160 A.D.

Height 8 1/2 inches (21.5 cm).

This lot is located in Chicago.

Provenance:

Don Fernando Higuera Pacheco, Spain, 1992.

Private Collection (A.D.), Brussels.

Note:

In ancient Rome, fashion was often determined by the elite and ruling class. How a woman wore her hair said much about their status in society. The hairstyle seen here was most in vogue from the Antonine to Severan Period and closely associated with Faustina Minor (130-176 A.D.). Known as the helmfrisur, the hair is parted down the center with wavy locks that cascade over her ears. The back of the hair is bound in a chignon. Although the identity of this delicately carved and meticulously designed portrait head is unknown, there is a quality and alertness to the sculpture that makes her stand out amongst her peers. For similar examples, see the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Inv. no. 13.115.2) and NY Carlsberg Glyptotek.

A repair visible around the circumference of the base of her neck, with a visible fracture and fill which fluoresces under UV light. Otherwise intact as preserved; approximately three-quarters of the proper left side of the nose lost. Small abrasions on the tips of carved details. Darker encrustations on the back of the neck. The top of the coiled hairstyle at the back partially lost and with a worn surface. The underside of the neck partly drilled but not permanently affixed to the modern base.

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Please contact the Auction Specialist for details.

Jacob Coley

Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Antiquities and Ancient Art

[email protected]312 280 1212

Mr. Coley joined the Antiquities department in 2021 after working as Managing Director in the Ancient Art department at Colnaghi, the world’s oldest commercial art gallery, where he helped to establish the Ancient Art department and launched Colnaghi New York in 2017. Prior to Colnaghi, Mr. Coley was in the Greek and Roman Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Coley holds a B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.A. in Art Market from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and he earned an art-appraisal certificate from New York University.

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Antiquities and Ancient Art: A Study

A Roman Marble Portrait Head of a Young Lady

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