Portrait of an Unknown Roman Woman. 1st c. – early 2d c. AD. Unknown sculptor
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery houses a female bust from the collection of Count Karol Lanckoronski. Using a plastic form made in the Roman Empire earlier, the sculptor replaced the original face with a new, more up-to-date one. In the first century AD, the sculptural form was based on sharp contrasts of light and shadow. This is particularly evident in the reproduction of complex hairstyles typical of the last quarter of the first and early second centuries AD. The lush curls framing the face look like a crown of spirals. The picturesqueness of the style is achieved by deep cuts of the carving knife. At the back of the head, the hair is braided and gathered in a complex bun resembling a basket. The facial features are generalised and idealised.
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