Female head

Female head with regular facial features, a long neck and rather small eyes. The hair is combed back and gathered in a prominent bun at the nape of her neck. This piece, found during the excavations conducted by Juan Cabré at Cabezo de Alcalá (Azaila, Teruel), entered the National Archaeological Museum in 1926. Based on the presence of Italic stylistic influences, in the past it was mistakenly identified as Livia.
The sculpture was found beside another male head (Inv. 32644) on a podium in the cella of a small Iberian shrine or antae temple integrated in a block of houses. Both heads were part of a sculpture group in which the female figure, believed to represent Nike, probably crowned the male figure, who in turn was holding a horse by the reins. The group reflects the cult of a deified local indigenous chieftain. This particular type of shrine, known as sanctuario gentilicio, was dedicated to a local hero or legendary forebear from whom the inhabitants of the surrounding countryside—in this case the area around the Urnfield and later Iberian settlement of Azaila—believed they were descended.