Marble portrait of Matidia Minor
This head originally belonged to an honorary portrait statue of Mindia Matidia, or Matidia Minor (A.D. 85–162), half-sister of Sabina, wife of the emperor Hadrian, and aunt of the emperor Antoninus Pius. There exist five other replicas of this portrait type, recognized by a recently discovered statue of Matidia Minor from the Roman theater at Suessa Aurunca, a Campanian town of which she was a major benefactor. As is common with members of the imperial family, she is portrayed with an idealized, youthful face, and styling a complex coiffure that includes a hairpiece in the shape of braids coiled on top of her head. Her upward gaze is characteristic of many portraits from the Antonine period onward.
Artwork Details
- Title: Marble portrait of Matidia Minor
- Period: Antonine
- Date: ca. 138–161 CE
- Culture: Roman
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm)
- Classification: Stone Sculpture
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1921
- Object Number: 21.88.35
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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Roman
37–41 CE
Roman
1st–2nd century CE
Roman
212–217 CE
Roman
ca. 14–37 CE
Roman
ca. 138–192 CE
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