Collection Item

From:UC Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities

Name/TitlePlaster Cast Head of a youth

About this objectThe original work from which this head is copied was made in the late first century CE, when Greece was a Roman province ruled by the Roman emperor. Some of the features, such as the treatment of the eyebrows and nose, the smooth quality of the skin, and the passive expression, distinctly recall Classical and late Classical styles of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE.

However, this is a distinctly Roman portrait, and not necessarily a copy of an earlier Greek work. Several features are of interest in this regard. The most important of these is the hair, which peeps out from under the head covering. The locks are miniature versions of the “crab-claw” locks that appear on portraits of the Roman emperor, Augustus, and on male portraits of the early first century CE.

The head covering on this piece which consists of a cloth band wound around the head and with the ends looped up and secured over the ears, is unusual for male portraits in Greek or Roman art. It is usually female portraits in which the head is covered by a cloak, veil, or in some cases a kerchief. It might therefore be an article of clothing associated with a particular ethnic group and is used to identify this individual neither Greek or Roman, similar to the way that Persians are represented in their distinctive hats, and Gauls are shown wearing gold torques around their necks. Alternatively, it might be an example of exoticism, where a Roman deliberately appears in non-Roman clothing. It is possible that the statue was part of a group that might have helped explain the head covering.

MakerMinistry of Culture Archaeological Receipts Fund

Maker RoleCasting and Copying Workshop

Date Madeca. 1988-1989

PeriodHellenistic

Place MadeGreece; Athens

Medium and MaterialsPlaster

Style and IconographyAthenian

TechniqueCasting (process)

MeasurementsH 260mm

Named CollectionThe James Logie Memorial Collection, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Credit LinePurchased, 1996.

Object TypeSculpture

Object numberCC26

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved