Torso of Diana
Culture: Roman
Date: 1st century A.D.
Medium: Marble
Dimensions:
height: 29 3/4 in. (75.5 cm)
width: 13 5/16 in. (33.8 cm)
depth: 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 86.134.109
Provenance: sold by Mario Barsanti, Rome, to to Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. (1921-2004), San Antonio, 1963; Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 1986
Published References
J. Powers, ed., Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii (San Antonio and Madrid: San Antonio Museum of Art and Ediciones el Viso, 2023), 161, no. 48
Label Text
The virgin huntress Diana (the Greek Artemis) was a goddess of the wilderness and a protector of women. The parents of girls who died young sometimes commissioned portraits of their daughters in the guise of Diana. Association with the virgin goddess was a particularly appropriate way to honor girls who did not live to fulfill the Roman woman’s expected roles as wife and mother. The cavity in the neck of this statuette, for the insertion of a separately carved head, may indicate that it was such a portrait. (Jessica Powers, 2008)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
