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[ΚΕΝΟ]
[ΚΕΝΟ]

Statue of mature woman in Large Herculaneum type.

Γ334
Stone (White marble)
Intact. Minor chipping to left arm and leg and garments. Accretions and superficial discoloration in places. Minor restoration on himation.
Total Height: 205 cm. Height of pedestal: 8 cm. Width: 63 cm. Thickness: 37 cm.
Chersonissos
Near the theatre, Polis site
Roman period:
100-130 AD:
Gallery:
XXVII
Case:
Not in case
Exhibition thematic unit:
Sculpture. Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd c. BC) Roman period (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD)
Statues of mortals
Description
Portrait statue of a standing matron in the iconographic type conventionally known as the “Large Herculaneum Woman”, which was widely used in sculptures of the 2nd c. AD. Features of this type are the relaxed contrapposto stance, the floor-length chiton (tunic) and the himation (mantle) over it, covering the back the head and falling to below the knees, leaving the hands free. The individualised features of the face, such as the wide forehead, aquiline nose, small mouth and stern expression, show that this was probably a portrait of an actual person. The characteristic wavy “melon” coiffure, crowning the forehead like a high, arched diadem, is the fashionable hairstyle typical of the period, imposed by statues of ladies of the imperial court, in this case of Trajan’s reign (98-117 AD). However, the original identifications of this statue as Plotina and Matidia, Trajan’s wife and niece, are not supported by the rest of the details of the portraiture. The statue is consequently believed to be that of a wealthy townswoman of Hersonissos, a figure from Cretan everyday life rather than a lady of the court from the impersonal, distant capital.
Bibliography:
S. Marinatos, Archäologischen Anzeiger 1935, 256, fig. 9-10 (ως Matidia). M. Wegner, Hadrian. Das römische Herrscherbild, II,3, Berlin 1956, 123 (rejecting Matidia identification). Ν. Platon, A Guide to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Athens 1964, 156-7 (probably Julia Domna). Ε. Schmidt, Römische Frauenstatuen, Berlin 1967, 94. S. Alexiou, Οδηγός του Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου Ηρακλείου, Αθήνα 1968, 134-5. H. J. Kruse, Römische weibliche Gewandstatuen des zweiten Jh. n.Chr., Göttingen 1975, 43, 112, 270 B3, Taf. 14. Α. Datsouli-Stavridi, "Τα ρωμαϊκά πορτραίτα του Μουσείου Ηρακλείου", in Πεπραγμένα του Δ΄ Διεθνούς Κρητολογικού Συνεδρίου, Agioa Nikolaos 1981, Α2, 586ff., pl. 193a. I.F. Sanders, Roman Crete. An Archaeological Survey and Gazetteer of Late Hellenistic, Roman and Early Byzantine Crete, Warminster 1982,1982, 50 (as J.Domna). I. Romeo - E. C. Portale, Gortina III. Le sculture, Padua 1998, 478 Anm. 1136. M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos, Die römischen Porträts Kretas. Bezirk Heraklion, CSIR Griechenland, Band VI,1, Athen 2002, 75–6, no. 43, Taf. 46–8. Μ. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos, "Γλυπτές "εικόνες" από τη Χερσόνησο", in Creta romana e protobizantina: atti del congresso internazionale (Iraklion, 23-30 settembre 2000), Padova 2004, vol. IΙΙ,2, 1068-1070, pl. ΙΙ. 1-3, ΙΙΙ, 1-2. P. Karanastasi, Roman imperial sculpture from Crete: a reappraisal, in J.E. Francis - A. Kouremenos, Roman Crete: New Perspectives, Oxford 2016, 103-4, 110, 112.
Author:
K. S.


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