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Head of a girl
Roman
Early Imperial Period
A.D. 15–40
Place of Manufacture: Italy, Lazio, Rome
Medium/Technique
Marble
Dimensions
Height: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Catharine Page Perkins Fund
Accession Number96.697
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 336; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 114 (additional published references).
DescriptionHead of a girl worked for insertion in either a full-length statue or bust format. The girl has an oval-shaped face with a small chin, full cheeks, and small mouth with full lips. She has wide, almond-shaped eyes with thin lids. Her eyes are not symmetrical. The outer corner of her left eye droops downward. She has a sharp browline with gently arched brows. Her hair is parted in the middle and pulled back into a knot at the nape of her neck. Gentle waves that end in tight, spiral curls frame her face. A section of braided hair runs along the central part from forehead to crown. The hair, including the knot at the nape of the neck, has been left unfinished.
The tip of the nose is broken off and the right side of the forehead and right temple have been damaged. There are patches of discoloration on the face and neck, perhaps from an iron object.
The tip of the nose is broken off and the right side of the forehead and right temple have been damaged. There are patches of discoloration on the face and neck, perhaps from an iron object.
ProvenanceFebruary 27, 1894, excavated by Massimiliano Pirani from a site near the Via Flaminia, not far from the Casale di Grottarossa, Rome [see note 1]. By 1896, purchased on the art market, Rome, by Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 – d. 1928), London [see note 2]; October, 1896, sold by Warren to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 1, 1896)
NOTES:
[1] See Rodolfo Amadeo Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma e notizie intorno le collezioni romane, vol. 1 (1902), p. 28; and Andrea Venier, "I Mosaici ritrovati nell'800 sulla via Flaminia ed esposti in America," available online at http://www.vignaclarablog.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/i-mosaici-ritrovati-sulla-via-flaminia.pdf. This was one of eleven marble heads that were found at that time.
[2] According to Warren’s records, this was found in the area of the the Prima Porta near Rome. When it was on the art market, it was photographed. For further information see M. B. Comstock and C. C. Vermeule, Sculpture in Stone: the Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1976), pp. 212-213, no. 336.
NOTES:
[1] See Rodolfo Amadeo Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma e notizie intorno le collezioni romane, vol. 1 (1902), p. 28; and Andrea Venier, "I Mosaici ritrovati nell'800 sulla via Flaminia ed esposti in America," available online at http://www.vignaclarablog.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/i-mosaici-ritrovati-sulla-via-flaminia.pdf. This was one of eleven marble heads that were found at that time.
[2] According to Warren’s records, this was found in the area of the the Prima Porta near Rome. When it was on the art market, it was photographed. For further information see M. B. Comstock and C. C. Vermeule, Sculpture in Stone: the Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1976), pp. 212-213, no. 336.