Mask of a Woman with a Large Coil of Plaited Hair in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2008

Mask of a Woman with a Large Coil of Plaited Hair
Reign of Hadrian, 117-138 AD

Accession # 00.2.10

The woman's high coiled braid recalls portraits of the Empress Sabina. The softer arrangements of the front parts of her hair most likely reflects a local adaptation. Wisps of hair that have escaped confinement are painted around her forehead.

The matronly appearance of this woman is in keeping with second-century trends in all kinds of funerary portraiture, and the tendency of female masks of the time to adapt Roman-style facial features and hair more consistently has been observed.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.