A Roman Marble Portrait Head of a Veiled Woman

Circa 1st Century A.D.

Height 8 1/2 inches (21.6 cm).

Property from a Midwestern Institution

Provenance:

Private Collection, New York, prior to 1983.

Property of a Midwestern institution (Acc. no. 1983.4.60a)

Showing the smooth countenance of a woman, this sculpted head is timeless by design. Once part of a life-sized statue, the voluminous folds of the woman’s mantle would have draped around her body and shoulders before being drawn up at the rear to partially cover her hair in a gesture signaling piety and modesty. The coiffure itself is an ornate configuration of curly strands rolled into rows, pulled back from the brow, and gathered behind in a chignon, creating a ribbed effect termed by scholars as the melonfrisur (‘melon-hairdo’). This distinctive hairstyle originated in Late Classical Greece, where it was deployed to great effect by the master sculptor Praxiteles. Elements of the facial structure, too, reflect this epoch: a somewhat low, triangular forehead, the sharply defined line of the brows descending to a straight nose, and the heavily lidded almond-shaped eyes.

These elements were deployed throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods for depictions of goddesses and queens. Here, the stark frontality suggests a Roman date as does the manner with which the running drill fully separates the lips. The surface is covered by a yellowed, oxidized patina which obscures a white marble with sugary crystals, characteristic of the Greek islands. Although Roman in manufacture, the spirit of the head - if not the material it was carved from - harkens back to the Hellenic past.