Recent investigations have concluded that the loose wig that this older woman is wearing is modern, added by an unscrupulous art dealer to increase the head’s interest and value. The original hairstyle has been chiselled off.
On the original head the wig is made of onyx, a darker stone than the face, which is of white marble
Number:
538
Material:
Marble and onyx
Location of Original:
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek 2741
Size:
0.29m
Accession:
Purchased from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in 1950
References:
Poulsen: Katalog over Antike Skulpturen Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, supplement II, pl. XI, text 496
Johansen, F: Catalogue of Roman Portraits in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (1994), vol.III, 54, no.18
Date:
c.200 CE
Provenance:
Acquired by the Glyptotek in 1924 from a private collection. Thought to have been found in the ruins of a villa near Rome
