Tondo
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1700 - 1800
Materials
Fine grained white marble and Carrara statuary marble
Measurements
610 x 450 x 120 mm
Collection
Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire
NT 831161.2
Summary
One of a pair of tondos with an ancient female head. Left profile of portrait head of a woman set into 18th century medallion. Third-quarter of the second century. Left profile of ancient head on non-pertinent ancient bust set into modern medallion. Only the head is ancient. The medallion and the bust are made from the same piece of marble and are modern. The tip of the nose is also a modern restoration. The head has been cut lengthwise in order to make two modern medallions. Either the cutting is not perfectly centred or the knot of hair at the back was not in the middle of the head. More of it appears here. This left profile (as the right) has been heavily cleaned and has lost its original surface. Moreover, both the eyes and the mouth have been blurred. The hairline over the brow and at the temple also has been made more abrupt by the cleaning. Behind the ear the hair has been re-worked. This has changed some of the locks of hair over the brow. The iris is engraved and the pupil has been lightly marked with two drill points, thus forming a 'pelta' shape. The pupil is closer to the inner corner of the eye; this corresponds to the rightward glance of the right eye preserved in the other medallion.
Provenance
The portrait head depicts a woman who wears the same hairstyle as Lucilla, the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, who was married to Lucius Verus (co-Emperor AD 161-169). It should thus date to c. AD 160-170. The head however has been sawed into two halves, and each half has been mounted on an 18th century medallion with a naked bust area (an unlikely choice in antiquity). The two medallions functioned as pendants and were designed to recall elegant images on ancient cameos and gems.