2003.100.16: Female Protome

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2003.100.16

Title

Female Protome

Classification

Sculpture

Work Type

sculpture

Date

c. 500-475 BCE

Period

Archaic period

Culture

Greek

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/92096

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Terracotta, mold made

Dimensions

13 x 11.8 cm (5 1/8 x 4 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Ex collection Professor Mason HAmmond, Pope Professor of Latin Language and Literature, Departments of the Classics and of History, Harvard University

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the daughters of Florence and Mason Hammond

Accession Year

2003

Object Number

2003.100.16

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Intact. Granular orange-brown terracotta. Much of the front and back surface is covered with a think dark brown coating. The hair is arranged in horizontal strands with individually molded locks that curves down the sides of the head behind the ears and diverges into three separate locks or curls on either side of the breast. There is a raised ridge above hairdo that extends around the head from ear to ear. A concave band or Taenia rises above it. The backside is smooth but concave behind. There is a slight suggestion of breasts at lower margin between the interlocks of hair.

The projection of the Taenia-like diadem could suggest the figure represents Hera.

Verification Level