Portrait head of a girl
Beginning in the 4th century BCE, portrait statues quickly became the most popular form of votive offering displayed in sanctuaries. The facial features and hairstyle of men became increasingly individualized over time, but those of women remained largely generalized and patterned on abstract ideals of virtue and beauty. In fact, without supplemental evidence, it is difficult to determine whether a female head carved during the Hellenistic period (323-30 BCE) represents a goddess or depicts a mortal. This girl's hair is fashioned in a contemporary style, but the delicate features of her face reveal nothing of her actual appearance.
Greek, late 3rd-2nd century BCE.
Art Institute of Chicago, anonymous loan (18.2012)
Portrait head of a girl
Beginning in the 4th century BCE, portrait statues quickly became the most popular form of votive offering displayed in sanctuaries. The facial features and hairstyle of men became increasingly individualized over time, but those of women remained largely generalized and patterned on abstract ideals of virtue and beauty. In fact, without supplemental evidence, it is difficult to determine whether a female head carved during the Hellenistic period (323-30 BCE) represents a goddess or depicts a mortal. This girl's hair is fashioned in a contemporary style, but the delicate features of her face reveal nothing of her actual appearance.
Greek, late 3rd-2nd century BCE.
Art Institute of Chicago, anonymous loan (18.2012)