The so-called 'Little Herculaneum Woman' with portrait head said to be Antonia

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In 1711, workers digging a well in Resina, Italy, uncovered three mostly intact marble statues of draped women in the small town. These sculptures heralded the discovery of ancient Herculaneum and are known today as the Large and Small Herculaneum Women. The Herculaneum Women were significant finds at ancient Herculaneum and among the best preserved sculptures there. The excavation of these images of ideal female beauty triggered nearly three centuries of archaeological exploration in Herculaneum and nearby Pompeii. Archaeologists uncovered a theater, temples, a forum, and the suburban Villa dei Papiri. The Herculaneum Women are Roman versions of sculptural types from Greek art. They have facial features that are idealized, wear elegant drapery, and share a distinctive hairstyle called the melon coiffure. The Herculaneum Women are prevalent images of the draped female form in the classical world. Their elegant drapery and composed stance represent feminine virtues of beauty, grace, and decorum in both Greek and Roman societies. Over 180 examples of the large statue type and over 160 of the small statue type are known, along with dozens of variants and reliefs on tombstones and sarcophagi. Most of these figures are combined with individualized portraits. A sculpture holds a portrait head said to be that of Antonia. This is an early 2nd century AD copy of a Greek original from the 4th century BC.