Roman Drapery with Later Head and Base

2nd century AD and later. A carved stone bust of a female divinity or a classical character, wrapped in a carefully sculpted pallium; the later 18th century head with youthful face, delicate features carved in classical style, the hair arranged in a bun at the nape of the neck and fastened by a taenia with locks falling on her shoulders; mounted on an 18th century marble stand. See Carpentieri, C., Il ritratto scultoreo a Roman nel primo Settecento, Lambert Sigisbert Adam, Edme Bouchardon e Michelange Slodtz, Torino, 1988, for discussion on the 18th century portraits; Kansteiner, S., Erganzungsprozesse, Transformation antiker Skulptur durch Restaurierung, De Gruyter, 2011, on the restoration and modification of the ancient sculpture in 1700s. 31 kg, 62cm including stand (24 1/2"). From an important English collection; previously in a private North American collection; accompanied by an archaeological expertise by Dr Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10766-177459. Such busts were often present in the magnificent gardens of the 18th century, like the bust of the Emperor Otto, once preserved in the gardens of Florence Poggio Imperiale, showing a very similar drapery. The chosen subjects, sometimes carved ex novo, sometimes (like in our example) realised with the reuse of parts of ancient Roman sculptures, were taken from the wide repertory of Greek mythology. When depicting young girls, the characters could for example be the daughters of Lycomedes (especially Deidamia, bride of Achilles, see Carpentieri, 1988, pls.26-27), but also simple portraits of noblewomen dressed ‘all’antica’.
Condition Report: Fine condition.