Female Bust

A slightly underlife size portrait of a woman restored on an ancient bust.
The head is turned to the right. The structure of the neck shows that the present turn is exaggerated. The woman wears a ‘tower’ hairstyle – where the front hair is separated from the back by a thick plait made of probably two strands of hair arranged in five S shaped locks on either side of the central parting. The S shaped locks are wound around two twisted strands of hair visible only above the middle of the forehead. There is a bow by the ends of the S-shaped locks. The hair at the back is combed into a high tower nest. This hairstyle is associated to the one worn by Faustina Maior. The bust is foreign to the head. The nose and its surrounding area are restored, as are both ears and large pieces of hair at the front. There is damage to the back of the hair, and there are several recent impact marks on the face. The bust was believed to have been found at Ostia and Blundell bought it from Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. The encrustration at the back of the portrait is similar to a number of portraits that were found in Ostia. A variant of the hairstyle can be seen in a colossal portrait in Tripolis, the dating of the portrait derives from this hairstyle. Similar hairstyles can be found in many private portraits as well as on grave reliefs.