Marble female figure

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


The figure, carved from white marble, is complete except for a repaired break at the neckline, a fill to the proper left shoulder, and a loss to the top of the proper left corner of the head. The proper right foot is a modern replacement in marble. There are additional small losses and scratches, gouges, and abrasions in various places. There may be a fissure in the proper left thigh that has been filled and painted. Light to moderate accretion appears on the front and back.


The head of the figure is lyre shaped with a narrow projecting nose. The top of the head is flat and flares slightly back. A shallow incision separates the bottom of the neck from the body. The broad torso has sloping shoulders, narrow arms folded left over right, and small projecting breasts. Fingers and toes are articulated. The abdomen below the arms bulges slightly. The pubic triangle is defined by incised lines below the abdomen and at the top of each thigh. The thighs and calves are slightly rounded with incised lines on the front and back at the knees. The legs are differentiated on the front and back by a deep groove, while the feet are fully separated. An incised line for the spine runs from the base of the neck to the top of the buttocks, which are slightly rounded and separated by the leg cleft. The head is indicated on the back by an incision at the top of the neck.


Although no pigment is preserved, there is a paint-ghost on the back of the head where hair would have once been painted, and possibly a ghost for a polos across the top of the front of the head.(1)


Pat Getz-Gentle identified this figure as the work of the Strangford Sculptor, to whom she also attributed the artist’s name piece in the British Museum.(2)


Alexis Belis and Wendy Walker


(1) Both noted by Elizabeth Hendrix in an examination in 2023.

(2) British Museum 1863,0213.1, from the Strangford Collection.