A Greek Marble Head of a Girl with Melon Coiffure, ca. 4th-3rd Cent

Culture: Greek
Date: 4th – 3rd Century B.C.
Condition: Intact, mounted on a custom base.
Provenance: EX: New York art market; EX: Prominent American private collection.
Measurements: 5 inches high (with base), 4 5/8 inches high (head alone)

Cf. Lot 52, Bonhams, Antiquities, 28 November, 2018.

Cf. Lot 140, Christies New York Antiquities Auction, 5 June 1998, (realized then $27,600); Votive sculptures of children have been found at many sites in Greece, some in a funerary context. Another close parallel to our present example, are statue of small girls from the Sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron in Attica, where young girls called arktoi, or “little bears”, performed a bear-dance at the annual festival.

Cp. P. G. Themelis, Brauron: Guide to the Sanctuary and the Museum, pp. 70-71.

C. Vermeule and A. Brauer, Stone Sculptures, The Greek Roman and Etruscan collections of the Harvard University Art Museum, no. 27; M. True and A. Herrmann, A Passion for Antiquities: The Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Collection, no. 50. Search for Alexander, ROM, no. S-28.

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