Italy, Roman / c. 250–75 CE
Portrait Bust of a Girl
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Portrait Bust of a Girl as sculpture (Italy, Roman · c. 250–75 CE).
This portrait of a young girl was thought for many years to represent a boy.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as marble.
The museum's collection notes: 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 deceased in the guise of the huntress Diana.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPortrait Bust of a GirlOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.