LOT 0064

Greek Marble Head of a Woman

2ND CENTURY B.C.

4 1/4 in. (386 grams total, 11 cm high).

A marble head of lady carved in the round with semi-naturalistic, masculine facial features, severe facial expression, hair dressed with a central parting and tied in a chignon at the nape of the neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand.

Acquired in the 1980s.
Ex private German collection.

Cf. Aurenhammer, M., Sculpture in Roman Asia Minor, Proceedings of the International Conference at Selçuk, 1st–3rd October 2013, Wien, 2018, p.440, fig.3.

Probably a votive statuette, of which only the head remains; it may also have been part of a high-relief made in the style of Asia Minor sculptures. The soft treatment of the hair, and the deep-set eyes in the narrow face, creating a soft effect, are among the characteristics known from the late Classical period. The arrangement of the hair in soft curls encircling the face, in a manner which provides a triangular form to the forehead, and then hanging downwards after being collected at the back of the neck, resembles the Kore types known from the early Hellenistic period.