Caryatid (female-shaped architectural support)
1st century
This graceful female figure appears to be a Roman version of a "caryatid," a Greek architectural element. Like European artists of the Renaissance, or American artists in the late 19th century, this sculpture is a Roman attempt to signal a "golden age" by reproducing the art of the past. The sensuously modeled drapery that clings to the soft body beneath belies this figure's probable use-sculpted female figures installed in buildings as load-bearing columns: women bearing the weight of the world.
Marble
23 3/4 x 8 3/8 x 6 1/2 in. (60.3 x 21.3 x 16.5 cm)
Base 5 3/8 x 9 ¾ x 7 7/8 in.
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
40.91
Provenance: [Yamanaka & Co., New York, by 1939]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection), January 1940