Roman
A Graeco-Roman marble head of a goddess, circa 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Marble
Height: 12 cm
The goddess's centrally parted wavy hair, pulled back into her now lost chignon. Her face with deep set, lidded eyes, and soft, slightly parted lips.
The goddess's centrally parted wavy hair, pulled back into her now lost chignon. Her face with deep set, lidded eyes, and soft, slightly parted lips.
Provenance
With Galerie Archéologie Borowski, Paris, France, 1984Private collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA, acquired from the above
Literature
The marble head, with its idealising features, bears similarities to sculpture of goddesses in the late Hellenistic period, particularly in the hairstyle and softness of the facial features. The flattened section at the back of the head indicates that it may have originally come from a larger relief.For an example with a similar expression and hair arrangement in the British Museum, see acc. no. 1861,1127.139. There is also a marble head of a nymph or hermaphrodite in the Harvard Art Museums, acc. no. 1899.10 which has a similarly expressive facial features. A 2nd-century Roman copy of a 4th-century Greek original, the Harvard head is also similar in size and hairstyle.