Portrait Head of a Woman (117-30): Artwork and History

Portrait Head of a Woman (117-30) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Roman.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait Head of a Woman
• Date: 117-30
• Artist attribution: Roman
• Place of origin: Italy
• Medium: Marble
• Dimensions: 34.3 × 26.7 × 26 cm (13 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 10 1/4 in.)
• Type: Sculpture
• Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
• Reference number: 1962.926

Collection credit

Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson

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Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.