Portrait Head of a Woman

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117-30

Roman

This woman’s name is unknown, but her portrait indicates that she was likely a member of the imperial family. She wears a tall ornamental headband, typically reserved for goddesses and imperial women. Her elaborate hairstyle, with distinct locks woven around the headband, would have required the services of a skilled hairdresser. Moreover, the use of costly marble reflects her family’s wealth, while her commemoration with a finely carved portrait indicates that she was of elevated social standing.

Status: On View, Gallery 152
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Portrait Head of a Woman
Place: Italy (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 117 CE–130 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 34.3 × 26.7 × 26 cm (13 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 10 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson
Reference Number: 1962.926
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/15606/manifest.json

Ashley Arico and Elizabeth Benge,“A New Look at Faces from the Past,” Art Institute of Chicago ARTicle, March 14, 2019.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 5 Portrait Head of a Woman: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Rachel C. Sabino, with contributions by Lorenzo Lazzarini, “Cat. 5 Portrait Head of a Woman: Technical Report,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, “Faces of Empire (Julius Caesar to Justinian),” The Celator 19, 12 (December, 2005), p. 22, fig. 3.
Cornelius Vermeule and Dietrich von Bothmer, “Notes on a New Edition of Michaelis: Ancient Marbles in Great Britain Part Two,” American Journal of Archaeology 60, no. 4 (October 1956), p. 338, no. 31.
Sotheby and Co., London, Catalogue of the Melchett Collection of Paintings, Drawings and Antiquities, sale cat. (Sotheby and Co., May 23-24, 1951), p. 15, lot 36.
Eugenie Strong, Catalogue of the Greek and Roman Antiques in the Possession of the Right Honourable Lord Melchett (Oxford University Press/Humphrey Milford, 1928), p. 35, cat. 31, fig. 20.

Art Institute of Chicago, Sculpture from the Classical Collection, September 1, 1987–August 31, 1988, no cat.
Art Institute of Chicago, Classical Art from the Permanent Collection, Feb. 1989–Feb. 17, 1990, no cat.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 156, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 152, November 11, 2012–present.

Henriette Hertz (1846-1913), acquired in Rome; given to Alfred Moritz Mond (1868-1930), 1st Baron Melchett of Landford, Melchett Court, Hampshire, and 35 Lowndes Square, London, by 1913 [according to Strong 1928]; by descent to his son Henry Ludwig Mond (1898-1949), 2nd Baron Melchett of Landford, and daughter-in-law Amy Gwen Mond (née Wilson) (died 1982), Lady Melchett of Landford, London; sold, Sotheby’s, London, May 23-24, 1951, lot 36. Hans Calmann (1899-1982), London; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1962.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.