Female Bust

Youthful female bust with small almond eyes, lightly indicated brows and a short and curvy mouth of a classical type. Her hair has a parting in the middle and the waves fall back over the ears in loose locks, drilled deeply in sections. She wears a prominent floral wreath probably of roses, alternating with open flowers and closed buds. The wreath may have been tied at the back of the head similarly to its restored state. She has been identified as Flora because of her wreath and the popularlty of the Capitoline Flora. She was a popular Roman deity of flowers and botanical fertility with a temple and a festival at Roman times. She was portrayed in coins but not found in exampled of statue. It is therefore difficult to identify the Ince piece as Flora. Muses also have wreaths but the one of the Ince piece does not seem similar to any of the ones worn by Muses.

Dating possible for the second half of the 1st century BC because of the drill work of the small bridges left between individual flowers and elements and the deep separation between individual locks of the front hair.

The head has been restored in the nose and the lower lip as well as the bust. Parts of the wreath are broken and there is surface damage to the left cheek. There are two dowel holes on the top of the head one is filled with metal. The right side of the head may have been recut and there are many tool marks on the crown suggesting the removal of original elements.