Portrait Bust of a Girl
Unknown Artist
c. 250–75 CE
Medium
marble
Dimensions
h. 52.1 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1951.288
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This portrait bust depicts a young child, perhaps three or four years old, with soft, fleshy cheeks and delicate features. The neck is slight, the skull relatively large and round, with closely cropped hair indicated by fine incisions. Although this hairstyle may appear masculine today, the child wears a high-belted chiton, a long garment usually worn by women and girls. Together with the rope running diagonally across the chest, this suggests a female funerary portrait, perhaps showing the dece...