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Head of a woman
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 98–117, recut about A.D. 110–125
Medium/Technique
Marble, probably from the Greek island of Paros
Dimensions
Overall: 37.5 × 20.3 × 16.5 cm (14 3/4 × 8 × 6 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund
Accession Number1988.327
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), no. 000. (frontispiece)
DescriptionThis portrait head of an unknown woman would have been inserted either into a full-length statue or bust format. The shape of the face is round with fleshy cheeks. She has almond-shaped eyes with thick lids and a small mouth with full lips. Her skin is wrinkle- and blemish-free. At some point during antiquity, the hairstyle was recarved. The drill marks scattered across the first tier of the reworked hairstyle indicate that this head originally wore the honeycomb hairstyle favored during the Flavian period, similar to that depicted in MFA 1992.575. Similar drill marks can be observed on the rear side of the crest of hair. The current hairstyle is arranged in three tiers of comma shaped locks meeting in paired spiral locks in the center. A socket at the peak of the hair crest indicates that there was a separately carved section of hair that is now lost. The bun at the back of the head, also missing, would also have been carved separately and held in place by the iron pin projecting from the rear of the head.
There is evidence that parts of the face may have been recarved in antiquity, likely when the hairstyle was changed. There are chisel marks along the upper part of the eye sockets and lining the inner corner of the eyes, indicating that the bridge of the nose was reworked to be made more narrow. Additionally, there appears to be evidence for recarving the mouth to make it smaller. The part of the lips extends well beyond the limits of the lips, with traces of erasure using a chisel on the right edge of the lower lip. There is also significant space between the corners of the lips and the naso-labial lines. This indicates that the mouth of the original portrait was larger than what is seen today. The ears also appear to have been altered when the hairstyle was changed.
The nose is damaged and there is a gash near the left temple. Root marks and other minor incrustations are present on the surface of the marble.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI240: Isotope ratios - delta13C +5.08 / delta18O -3.39, Attribution - Paros 1, Justification - White, coarse-grained marble. Petrographic Analysis - maximum grain size (1.8mm).
There is evidence that parts of the face may have been recarved in antiquity, likely when the hairstyle was changed. There are chisel marks along the upper part of the eye sockets and lining the inner corner of the eyes, indicating that the bridge of the nose was reworked to be made more narrow. Additionally, there appears to be evidence for recarving the mouth to make it smaller. The part of the lips extends well beyond the limits of the lips, with traces of erasure using a chisel on the right edge of the lower lip. There is also significant space between the corners of the lips and the naso-labial lines. This indicates that the mouth of the original portrait was larger than what is seen today. The ears also appear to have been altered when the hairstyle was changed.
The nose is damaged and there is a gash near the left temple. Root marks and other minor incrustations are present on the surface of the marble.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI240: Isotope ratios - delta13C +5.08 / delta18O -3.39, Attribution - Paros 1, Justification - White, coarse-grained marble. Petrographic Analysis - maximum grain size (1.8mm).
ProvenanceBy 1988: with NFA Antiquities, 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90067 (said to have been in a Swiss private collection prior to 1970); purchased by MFA from NFA Antiquities, June 15, 1988