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Colossal female portrait

Date early 1st century A.D.
Object type sculpture
Medium, technique carved, marble
Dimensions

height: 48.8 cm, width: 29.5 cm, depth: 32.6 cm

Inventory number 4134
Collection Classical Antiquities
On view Museum of Fine Arts, Basement Floor, Classical Antiquity, The ancient Mediterranean

The larger-than-life portrait is assembled from several pieces, some of which are early 20th-century supplements. The folds of clothing barely indicated at the back show that the head belonged to a bust and not a statue. The long hair is tied in a bun, which was separately carved and fitted to the portrait with the help of a dowel hole at the nape of the neck. The grooves at the sides indicate marble insets of an unknown function. Based on its monumental size, the bust probably represents a female member of the imperial family, perhaps the empress Livia, the wife of Augustus.

Marble analyses have shown that the statue was made of Parian (Paros-Marathi) marble.

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.

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