Roman female head, Palmyra, second half of the 1st century-2nd century AD
Limestone
Height: 18.5cm
10967
Further images
Finely carved head of an elite woman, wearing an elaborately carved diadem, her hair swept back off the forehead and secured beneath a himation with thick folds, revealing a large...
Finely carved head of an elite woman, wearing an elaborately carved diadem, her hair swept back off the forehead and secured beneath a himation with thick folds, revealing a large drop earring. She has a soft, rounded face, full lips, and almond shaped eyes with thin eyebrows and incised pupils. Flat backed, the head is angled slightly to the left, restored from two pieces, a chip to the nose.
This head probably comes from a funerary relief that showed the bust of the individual against a flat backdrop.
This head probably comes from a funerary relief that showed the bust of the individual against a flat backdrop.
Provenance
Sir William Whitfield CBE (1920-2019), County Durham, UK; acquired in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, in the early 1940sSir William was an architect who designed many notable public buildings as well as additions to several cathedrals. Between 1985-1990 he was Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral, he was also, amongst other positions, a trustee of the British Museum.
Literature
For a slightly later example, but in similar garb, compare Metropolitan Museum accession number 02.29.5. Also compare Jack Ogden, Jewellery of the Ancient World (London, 1982), pp.18-19, no.11
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