Marble head of a member of the Hekatomnid dynasty
Greek, around 350 BC
Found in the cella of the Temple of Athena Polias, Priene, modern
Turkey
Possibly Maussollos' sister Ada
The architectural details of the Temple of Athena at Priene are
closely related to those of the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos: the
architect Pytheos was responsible for both buildings. He was
probably a sculptor as well as an architect and may have worked
under Hekatomnid patronage at several sanctuaries. After the
Mausoleum had been constructed, some of the stonemasons and
sculptors probably accompanied Pytheos to Priene. The scale and
design of this female head is similar to the colossal dynastic
portraits that were set up on the Mausoleum. This close resemblance
means that this head is probably a portrait of one of the female
members of the Hekatomnid dynasty. Possibly Maussollos' sister and
successor, Ada who ruled from 351 to 340 BC with her
brother/husband Idreus, and on her own from 333 to 323 BC.
Apart from the obvious similarities between the face of this
sculpture and some of the female heads from the Mausoleum, (as well
as the male colossal portrait from the tomb building), this woman
wears the same headdress as the Hekatomnid women. Her
sakkos (sprang hair-net) preserves many traces of its
painted lozenge-shaped and polka-dot design. Red pigment also
survives in the hair, which may have been gilded, showing that the
unusual snail-shell curls do not represent an actual hairstyle but
a gold diadem.
The head was designed to be inserted into a draped body, and
fragments of the garments may survive amongst the many pieces of
sculpture found at Priene. Several pieces of drapery, again with
stylistic affinities with the Mausoleum sculptures, have been
assigned to this figure, all preserving painted designs.
S. Walker, Greek and Roman portraits (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
A.H. Smith, A catalogue of sculpture in -1, vol. 2 (London, British Museum, 1900)
J.C. Carter, The sculpture from the Sanctua (London, The British Museum Press, 1983)