The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 21, 2025
Head of a Woman
500–475 BCE
Location: 102D Pre-Roman
Did You Know?
This sculpture is an example of ancient mass production, as many identical heads could be made from one mold.Description
Probably created for use as a votive dedication, or an offering to a deity, this mold-made female head tops a broad neck spreading into a flat base; no bust or body was intended. The wavy hair, parted in the center, drapes before the ears and beneath a simple headband, framing the face and emphasizing the frontal view. Although three-dimensional, the head is unworked on its back half.- Said to be from Southern Italy; purchased by Harold Parsons from French, Lemon and Co.
- Smithers, Stephen. "Images of Piety and Hope: Select Terracotta Votives from West-Central Italy," in Studia Varia from the J. Paul Getty Museum Vol 1 (Occasional Papers on Antiquities, vol. 8), pp. 13-32. Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum. Mentioned, p. 17.
- {{cite web|title=Head of a Woman|url=false|author=|year=500–475 BCE|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.414