Marble head of an elderly woman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This portrait of an elderly Roman matron conveys an air of gravitas and dignity that befits the social standing of the subject. Like most portraits of Roman women, this one can be dated closely by the hairstyle, which combines a braided bun worn high on the head and the so-called nodus, a flat braid pulled back over the top of the head. In antiquity, all marble sculpture was painted. Here, the indication of eyelashes can still be seen on the upper lid of the right eye, and traces of pigment remain on the same eye and on the hair.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art