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Roman woman as an enthroned goddess
Roman
Early Imperial Period
31 B.C.–A.D. 69, inspired by a Greek statue of late 5th century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Marble probably from the Greek island of Paros
Dimensions
Height x depth x width: 117.5 x 96 x 80 cm (46 1/4 x 37 13/16 x 31 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900
Accession Number03.749
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 148; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 111 (additional published references).
DescriptionThe statue was either made separately from the seat (not preserved) or cut from it later. Numerous indications point to a second use. Probably it was a Roman portrait in both instances. Front and back of the upper part of the body have been sawn in two and refastened; the left shoulder has been sawn off and replaced; new pieces seem to have replaced two fragments broken from the joint on the right side; and the front of the footstool and part of the left foot have been worked off. The right forearm, made separately, has been refastened and may date from the second use. The missing left arm was also worked separately. There are a number of small fragments of drapery refastened, and other areas have been restored in plaster. The surfaces, now worn in places, had a slight polish.
The goddess held a phiale in the extended right hand and a scepter-staff in the raised left. The copy, used as a portrait, seems to be no earlier than the age of Augustus. The original was clearly a major cult statue of the late fifth century B.C., perhaps one in gold, other metals, and ivory, which would prevent scaling down from casts to create uniform, mechanically accurate replicas.
Scientific Analysis:
Isotope ratios - delta13C +5.026 / delta18O -3.002, Attribution - Paros-1, Justification (Petrographic Analysis) - maximum grain size (1.7mm).
The goddess held a phiale in the extended right hand and a scepter-staff in the raised left. The copy, used as a portrait, seems to be no earlier than the age of Augustus. The original was clearly a major cult statue of the late fifth century B.C., perhaps one in gold, other metals, and ivory, which would prevent scaling down from casts to create uniform, mechanically accurate replicas.
Scientific Analysis:
Isotope ratios - delta13C +5.026 / delta18O -3.002, Attribution - Paros-1, Justification (Petrographic Analysis) - maximum grain size (1.7mm).
ProvenanceBy 1903: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: Found at Vasciano, near Todi, in Umbria, 1900, among the ruins of a medicinal bath dating from II or III century A.D. but built on the site of an older structure.); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, March 24, 1903