Hellenistic Market Woman

Title: Market Woman

Date: 1st Century BCE

I found the image of this sculpture in Marilyn Stokstad's book, Art: A Brief History, which was required for Dr. Rabe's Art 103 class. This is a marble sculpture of an elderly market woman that is believed to have been created during the Hellenistic era. However, some sources say that it may be a Roman copy, due to the fact that it appears to have been intentionally damaged. The arms have been chopped off, part of the right breast, neck, and area above the eyebrows have been chiseled at, and there is a chunk of marble missing from the left jawbone among other disfigurements. The woman wears a thin garment. The folds and drapery adds texture to the sculpture. Her sleeve has slipped off her shoulder, exposing part of her breast. According to Stokstad, this is a "detail often seen in representations of old women that hints at the liberation of the elderly from the restrictions imposed on women of childbearing years." She wears thong sandals and carries a bag as well as a basket of what appears to be fruit. This sculpture is located in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.