By Jacqueline Engel
Busts of this type were popular in Roman Egypt and were often used in funerary contexts.
It shows a middle- aged woman draped in a Greek tunic and a sleeveless coat.
Her elegant hairstyle with lavish braids and curls has been carefully modelled and wrapped around her head three times.
The curls and notches on her forehead confirm her high rank.
Perhaps she was Faustina the Elder, the wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius and the mother of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
It was found in Kom Abu Bilo the site of a temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor and a large necropolis with tombs spanning the period from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period.
Roman reign of Antoninus Pius,
AD 138-161.
Therenouthis. Kom Abu Billo, Marble, JE 44672
An imperial lady
Busts of this type were popular in Roman Egypt and were often used in funerary contexts.
It shows a middle- aged woman draped in a Greek tunic and a sleeveless coat.
Her elegant hairstyle with lavish braids and curls has been carefully modelled and wrapped around her head three times.
The curls and notches on her forehead confirm her high rank.
Perhaps she was Faustina the Elder, the wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius and the mother of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
It was found in Kom Abu Bilo the site of a temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor and a large necropolis with tombs spanning the period from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period.
Roman reign of Antoninus Pius,
AD 138-161.
Therenouthis. Kom Abu Billo, Marble, JE 44672
LA CIVILTA' EGIZIA 