2016.36, Roman portrait head of a young woman, 2nd century CE

Portraiture played a key role in the Roman aristocracy's desires to reinforce its ties to the Imperial household, and it was the primary means to communicate class-consciousness. Depictions of Roman aristocratic women closely relate to those of women in the Imperial House, as portraits of empresses appeared in every city of the Empire through both coins and sculpture. The distinctive coiffure seen here resembles the portraits of female members of the Imperial household in the Late Trajan to Hadrianic period, with a particular resemblance to Matidia the Elder (Hadrian's wife's half-sister) and Sabina, Hadrian's wife. 

Portraits of both royal and upper-class women existed largely to complement or promote the interests of their male relatives, usually a husband or son. Because non-royal women of ancient Rome had limited public roles and rights, honorific statues were reserved for either priestesses or wealthy individuals whose donations bought popularity with the people. On the occasion that a royal woman was represented in state relief sculpture, it was to take advantage of "women's" themes such as continuity of dynasty, fertility, reproduction, and the health of the empire. Other advantageous approaches to female portraiture communicated values such as modesty, virtue, or domesticity as it related to the goals of a male family member. These themes are most famously expressed on the south frieze relief of the Ara Pacis (9 BCE)  in Rome, where as the supreme example of a Roman woman, Livia (wife of Augustus) and her sons follow in procession a few steps behind the emperor. Depicted wrapped in a garment of domesticity and modesty similar to the Dallas Museum of Art's full-size Roman figure of a woman [1973.11], Livia was revered for the remainder of the Roman Empire, and her example influenced Roman portraits of women for hundreds of years.

While Roman women were forbidden from wearing jewelry in public, their hairstyles were not subject to the same restrictions, as evidenced by portraits that reflect a abundance of varied and extravagant coiffures. In this portrait, four braids beginning at the back of the head are wound around the domed crown forming a turban-like wreath. Soft waves of hair frame the face, and the central part approximates the hairstyle worn by Greek goddesses and also favorable empresses like Livia. The creation of such hairstyles was difficult and tedious; ancient sources recount the numerous hairdressers involved, and of hairpieces with permanent curls that could be removed and reattached. This young woman's short neck broadens at the base, and the underside is sculpted to allow insertion into a statue, a common practice at the time.

In the case of the Dallas Museum of Art's Roman portrait head of a young woman, the father, or perhaps the proud husband of this young lady may have commissioned a likeness for presentation purposes, underscoring his desire to communicate continuity of dynasty and the virtues of family life. Despite the variety of elaborate hairstyles and physiognomic likenesses, the underlying purpose of Roman portraits of women was essentially the same: to align with the favorable imperial families, and reinforce the various social and political aims of male family members.

Matidia the Elder, Hadrian's wife's half-sister, wore a comparable turban of braids arranged in layers. Notably, the DMA portrait has less resemblance to portrait types of Hadrian's wife Sabina, who did not bear children, thus failing her husband and the state, ushering in a period in which the emperor chose his own successor who was not necessarily a blood relative. Sabina is, however, depicted in a great public monument, a relief today known as the Arco di Portogallo, featuring the apotheosis of Sabina. It is the first known depiction of the deification of a Roman empress, a motif repeated on contemporary Hadrianic coins. While unusual to see a woman on a state relief, it is consistent with other portraits of Roman empresses in that her likeness is used to bolster the political motives of her husband. The composition of this relief is revealing as well, as she is the smallest figure, smaller even than the reclining semi-nude youth, a personification of the Field of Mars (Campus Martius), and Hadrian himself, and she is mostly obscured by the torch-bearing personification of Eternity (Aeternitas). Similarly,

Before 1967-1987: Paul and Helen Bernat Collection, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, acquired before 1967

1987-2016: Private Collection, United States

From 2016: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Cahn International AG, Basel, Switzerland [1]

[1] The primary source for this provenance is the Cahn International catalog found in Collections Records Object File 2016.36

Apply to objects where number equals 2016.36