Young Flavian Woman
Title
Young Flavian Woman
Date
Flavian, c.90 C.E.
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
Marble
Height of the work
64.1 cm tall
Provenience
Italy, Rome
Current Location
Capitoline Museum in Rome, Italy
Sitter Biography
The bust of the Young Flavian Woman might be of Vibia Matidia, who is sometimes recognized as the niece of Emperor Trajan. However, this identity of the Young Flavian Woman is not universally accepted. In more simple terms, the Young Flavian Woman was a member of the elite class during the late Flavian period or the early Trajanic period.
Description and Significance
Description:
The portrait is of a young woman and is made of white marble. It is a bust-length styled portrait meaning that the portrait only extends to about shoulder length. The bust features drapery on the woman’s shoulder indicating that her body would have been clothed.
She has a narrow, oval face as well as almond-shaped eyes. The face, which shows little to no emotion, features groomed, feathery eyebrows and a delicate mouth. She has a long and narrow nose. Her head is angled slightly to the left. Her hair covers the ears.
The hairstyle of the young Flavian woman is the centerpiece of the bust. The hair sits high above her head and has a lot of volume. The bust has ringlets of hairs outlining the face. The curls of hair then terminate into a braided bun on the back of the head. The ringlets of hair are rendered through drilling and emphasize the contrast of light and dark.
The bust has some damage on it. The tip of the nose appears to have been broken off and later restored. Additionally, it looks as if the head of the bust has been reattached given the filled in crease on the neck. Some of her curls are also missing.
Significance:
The Bust of the Young Flavian Woman is a symbol of Roman values and virtues as well as her status. According to scholars, her intricate and complex hairstyle enhanced her virtue as a wife and mother as the woman would have had an idealized personal appearance. Furthermore, the upkeep of her personal appearance would have enhanced the husband’s reputation.
Additionally, the elaborate low, tight bun shows the Young Flavian Woman’s sense of modesty, an important Roman value. We have seen the low tight bun on other elite women, including on Octavia and Livia. The artist chose to represent the bust with a glimpse of clothing. This is significant in that she would have been clothed and, again, would have shown her modesty and dignity.
While we do not know the age of the woman portrayed in the bust, she is sculpted in a very youthful and idealized manner showing no age and/or deformities. While it is very possible that the woman is young in age, it might also be possible that her youthfulness comes from the idea of how women were portrayed how they should be seen and/or how men saw them.
The hairstyle also shows her status. This elaborate hairstyle would have required the use of wax and wires to hold the hair in place and would have been fairly difficult to do alone. Thus, the woman would have more than likely had servants to assist her with her hair.
The portrait is of a young woman and is made of white marble. It is a bust-length styled portrait meaning that the portrait only extends to about shoulder length. The bust features drapery on the woman’s shoulder indicating that her body would have been clothed.
She has a narrow, oval face as well as almond-shaped eyes. The face, which shows little to no emotion, features groomed, feathery eyebrows and a delicate mouth. She has a long and narrow nose. Her head is angled slightly to the left. Her hair covers the ears.
The hairstyle of the young Flavian woman is the centerpiece of the bust. The hair sits high above her head and has a lot of volume. The bust has ringlets of hairs outlining the face. The curls of hair then terminate into a braided bun on the back of the head. The ringlets of hair are rendered through drilling and emphasize the contrast of light and dark.
The bust has some damage on it. The tip of the nose appears to have been broken off and later restored. Additionally, it looks as if the head of the bust has been reattached given the filled in crease on the neck. Some of her curls are also missing.
Significance:
The Bust of the Young Flavian Woman is a symbol of Roman values and virtues as well as her status. According to scholars, her intricate and complex hairstyle enhanced her virtue as a wife and mother as the woman would have had an idealized personal appearance. Furthermore, the upkeep of her personal appearance would have enhanced the husband’s reputation.
Additionally, the elaborate low, tight bun shows the Young Flavian Woman’s sense of modesty, an important Roman value. We have seen the low tight bun on other elite women, including on Octavia and Livia. The artist chose to represent the bust with a glimpse of clothing. This is significant in that she would have been clothed and, again, would have shown her modesty and dignity.
While we do not know the age of the woman portrayed in the bust, she is sculpted in a very youthful and idealized manner showing no age and/or deformities. While it is very possible that the woman is young in age, it might also be possible that her youthfulness comes from the idea of how women were portrayed how they should be seen and/or how men saw them.
The hairstyle also shows her status. This elaborate hairstyle would have required the use of wax and wires to hold the hair in place and would have been fairly difficult to do alone. Thus, the woman would have more than likely had servants to assist her with her hair.
References
Kleiner, D.E.E. Roman Sculpture (1992). pp. 177-180
Tuck, Steven L. A History of Roman Art (2015). pp. 197-199
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/v/portrait-bust-of-a-flavian-woman-fonseca-bust.
Accessed March 24, 2017.
Tuck, Steven L. A History of Roman Art (2015). pp. 197-199
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/v/portrait-bust-of-a-flavian-woman-fonseca-bust.
Accessed March 24, 2017.
Contributor
Ryan Milley
Citation
Unknown , “Young Flavian Woman,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A - "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed May 20, 2024, https://classicalchopped2.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/42.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.