Portrait Head of a Young Woman

A.D. 170–190

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

32.4 × 15.9 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-224916

The head, complete with its entire neck, was carved to be inserted into the separate body of a full-length statue. It is the portrait of a young, i.e. still teen-aged, woman, holding her head high on a long and slender neck. Her face is heart-shaped with a high forehead, and the elongated slopes of the cheeks lead to a small, slightly pointed chin. Her large, wide open eyes are framed by softly rounded eyelids; iris and pupils indicated by incisions and deep drill holes, respectively. The nose is straight, with only the slightest convex curve. It appears short like that of a child whose features are still developing, with the extended height of her upper lip a prominent detail of her countenance. Finally, the petite mouth is modeled with the utmost subtlety, particularly evident on the lower lip. The way she wears her hair is simple: parted in the center, long, wavy strands converge in a bun now missing but once placed low in the back of the head, excluding only a couple of wispy tufts too short to be captured. A noticeable feature of the sculpture are the four marble pieces of hair carved separately and then attached to the head: the crown, the bun, and two segments of hair over…