8. Relief Fragment with Female Head (MNR 310258)

inv. no. 310258
max. h. 0.17 m; max. w. 0.12 m; max. d. 0.14 m
Pentelic marble
The head is broken from the right cheek to chin; the nose is missing. There are many chips on the preserved portion of the head.

This little head is worked almost in the round and is shown in three-quarter view, slightly turned toward the left, the direction in which she gazes. The hairstyle, with center part and soft curls gathered at the nape of the neck, is completed by a garland. On the left, among the tresses, are deep furrows that probably served for the attachment of an attribute.

In this head one can recognize a representation of Victory, who frequently appears in scenes of a military-commemorative character (it suffices to cite the reliefs of the Arch of Titus, the Palazzo della Cancelleria, and the Arch of Trajan at Beneventum). A particularly close comparandum is found in a female head on a capital that probably belonged to the aedicula of the Templum Divi Vespasiani (S. De Angeli, Templum Divi Vespasiani, Rome 1992, p. 123, no. 28, figs. 142 a-b).

In our case, the fragment can be considered part of the same scene to which the portrait of Vespasian belongs (KM 2430). It is probable that the figure was shown hovering a little above the ground. It was 1.12 m in total height (h. chin to cranium 0.14 m).

Bibliography

Catalogue entry by Rita Paris

 

Catalogue 7

Catalogue 9

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