Marble female figure

Technical analysis: Ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence examination, optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy


The figure, carved from white marble, has a modern repair across the middle of the torso with a visible loss from the break on the back. The fragments are misaligned, and a modern adhesive covers the stone adjacent to the join. The lower parts of both legs are missing. A fill at the bottom of the proper left leg may have been added to even out the legs. Although the marble is pitted in numerous places, some of the original polished surface is retained. Areas of accretion are concentrated on the proper right side of the figure. An abraded area on the abdomen is noticeably whiter than the surrounding stone. There are small patches of modern black paint between the legs on the front and back. The traces of red pigment visible on the chest, and proper left arm are modern contamination, while the red particles visible on the head consists of iron oxides, such as goethite and hematite, likely from the burial environment. The ghost of the proper left eye is visible in raking light.(1)


Figures of the Kapsala type are distinctive for their rounded sculptural forms. The broad head of this figure is angled slightly back and features a prominent nose. The breasts are softly modeled. The arms are crossed, but with no indication of fingers. The pubic area is articulated below the slightly rounded abdomen by grooves at the tops of the thighs. The legs are not fully separated, but are defined by a deep groove on the front and back. A shallow vertical incision on the back of the figure represents the spine.


The figure is part of a group of objects acquired by Leonard Stern that came from the Christoph Bernoulli collection.


Alexis Belis, Federico Carò, and Wendy Walker


(1) Elizabeth Hendrix noted additional possible paint ghosts when she viewed the figure in 2023: a squared-off hair mass at the back, proper left sidelock, proper right sidelock, and crown band.