A ROMAN BRONZE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A GIRL - CIRCA MID 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Lifesized, her long oval face, the narrow mouth with the lips together, a triangular nose, the small almond-shaped eyes articulated and gazing upward, with thick upper lids, the brows incised, her hair parted at the center, scalloped along her forehead, plaited at the back of her head and spiraled into a bun at the nape of her neck, thin wisps before each ear, surmounted by a knobbed crescentic diadem, preserving incised decoration including scrolling, a star and portions of a crescent moon, the thin neck flaring toward the base, notched for attachment. 10 5/8 in. (27 cm.) high. Estimate: $140,000 - $180,000

Provenance: Acquired by the current owner in Germany, 1997.

Lot Notes: For a marble head with a related hair-style from Ephesus, dated 245-250 AD, see no. 170 in Inan and Rosenbaum, Roman and Early Byzantine Portrait Sculpture in Asia Minor. This head, like the present example, differs from many of its counterparts in that the hair does not dip behind the ears before being pulled up again and bound in a bun. Rather, it is pulled taut.

The addition of the diadem may indicate that the subject is presented in the guise of a deity. See p. 326 and pls. 291-292 in Kleiner, Roman Sculpture, with the Empress Julia Domna in the guise of Ceres and Abundance, respectively.

Christie's. ANTIQUITIES.  4 June 2008