ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN
Julio-Claudian Period, 1st century BC - 1st century AD
height cm 25

The Roman lady is represented with the oval face characterized by rounded chin and slightly-full lips. The eyes are framed by thin modelled brows, arching gracefully and merging with the bridge of her nose. On the short forehead, the wavy hairs are center parted, with the individual strands delineated, which are elegantly pulled back to the nape, in origin probably collected in a chignon. The head is rendered with great restraint and an admirable mixture of realistic and idealized forms, recalling the expressions of beauty in vogue during the late Augustan time and the first decades of Julio-Claudian period. Provenance: Ex Sotheby’s, London 10-11 December 1992, lot 490.