Lot 33
  • 33

A Marble Portrait Head of a Woman, Roman Imperial, Early Severan, late 2nd/early 3rd Century A.D.

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • A Marble Portrait Head of a Woman
  • Marble on wooden base
  • Height 8 5/8 in. 21.9 cm.
turned slightly to her right, her face with high cheekbones, straight nose, eyes with incised irises and drilled crescentic pupils, and engraved eyebrows, her straight hair parted low in the center and pulled back behind the ears, the nape of the neck and lower back of the head prepared for the addition of a now missing separately-carved chignon.

Provenance

Ugo Donati, Molinazzi di Monteggio, Lugano
Swiss private collection, acquired from the above on May 27th, 1955
by descent to the present owner

Condition

As shown and described, rim of proper right ear abraded and chipped, surface in very good condition, beautiful root mark deposits.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

For a contemporaneous portrait head of a woman with separately-carved domed chignon of spiraling locks made in three parts see Richard Brilliant, "One Head, Three Problems," Roemische Mitteilungen, vol. 82, 1975, pp. 135-142, pls. 25-27 (Sotheby's, New York, November 24th-25th, 1987, no. 153); the author identifies the head as a portrait of Manlia Scantilla, the wife of Didius Julianus, arguing that it was originally carved in the Antonine period, between A.D. 165-169, and that the hairstyle was updated circa A.D. 193, the year Didius Julianus reigned as emperor.