Veiled Head of a Woman at The Louvre, Paris

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The hair on this marble bust of a woman is styled as thick curls, similar to those found on a nearby sculpture in The Louvre (also archived on Scan The World!), framing her face below a veil that rests atop her head and cascades down her back. It's likely she wore earrings due to the holes visible in her earlobes. The back of this head is undetailed, and no body has been discovered, suggesting it may have been mounted on a wall or used in a funeral home. This female head wears a veil that forms a fold above her skull, following a widespread pattern dating back to around 350 BC, as seen in the famous Demeter of Cnidus at the British Museum, part of the Scan The World Archive. This resemblance has led some to believe this is a variant head, but the rough side of the work may indicate it originally belonged to a funeral effigy or high relief decoration, where it was embedded.