70 A Roman Marble Portrait Statue of a Woman, circa 1st Century A.D.

Monumental ItemUK: Greenford Park Warehouse

Estimate:

150,000 - 250,000 GBP

A Roman Marble Portrait Statue of a Woman

circa 1st Century A.D.

standing with the weight on her right leg, wearing a chiton buttoned on the upper arm and stola held by thin straps over her shoulders and belted under the breasts, and a mantle wrapped twice around her body, falling over her left forearm, and formerly covering the head as a veil, the neck hollowed out for insertion of a portrait head, the now missing right lower arm separately carved; no restorations.

Height 172 cm.

Repaired horizontally from two

pieces across thighs. Very neat join.

The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

Wilson family collection, Nogales, Arizona, acquired in Europe in the mid 1960s/early 1970s (Christie’s, New York, June 8th, 2012, no. 222, illus.)
Galerie Chenel, Paris, acquired at the above sale
European private collection, acquired from the above in September 2012
acquired from the above in 2019

The stola, worn by Roman elite women, indicates that the statue was designed for a portrait head. Assuming that the stola is an addition by the Roman sculptor, the statue is likely to be a copy of an otherwise unattested Greek original of the late 4th cent. BC: For the stance cf. the Large Herculaneum Woman (for the type see most recently K. Knoll, C. Vorster, eds., Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Katalog der antiken Bildwerke, vol. 3, 2013, pp. 170ff., no. 33). For the V-shaped mantle-folds on the lower body cf. the Hygieia Polignac type: W. Geominy, in: P. Bol, ed., Die Geschichte der antiken Bildhauerkunst, vol. 3, 2007, p. 88, fig. 114. For the mantle wrapped twice around the body cf. the statue sold at Sotheby’s, London, June 12th, 2017, no. 42.

A Roman Marble Portrait Statue of a Woman, circa 1st Century A.D.

70

A Roman Marble Portrait Statue of a Woman, circa 1st Century A.D.

A Roman Marble Portrait Statue of a Woman, circa 1st Century A.D.

Description

Condition report

Provenance

Catalogue note