Female statue without head

Inv. Scu 899

The matronly-proportioned female figure is wearing a long sleeveless tunic ( chiton) girded under the breasts and a cloak ( himation) that, with the edge resting on her left shoulder, falls obliquely down her back and is brought to the front with a complex fold. Her wrists are adorned by two bracelets while a third, formed by two bands with a string of pearls in the centre and a medallion with a male figure in relief, encircles the biceps of her left arm.

References to Praxiteles’ art are recognizable in the way the material on the chiton is stylized, in the very high belt, in the small billowing edge that emerges from the role of the himation, in the triangularly-carved folds on the front.

The figure is resting on her right leg withdrawing the left and bringing it to the side with the sole of the foot resting on the ground. The bust is slightly curved backwards and the face slightly turned towards the right.

The statue was restored in the 1920s, integrating it with a non pertinent head of Apollo, which was later removed. The ancient plinth, upon which only the central part rests, was inserted in a modern base.

The work is perhaps a Trajanic copy of a 4th century BC original, in particular the characteristics of the clothing and the way they are carved recall the art of the sculptor Praxiteles.

The work was probably found in Rome.