Flavian Women

This Young Flavian Woman bust on the right stares at the viewer with idealized skin and perfect hair, but also with distinct facial features such as deep set eyes and a heavy brow.  Her hair is piled high on her head in the latest fashion, and must have taken skill and drillwork to create in marble.  Her idealized features coupled with real likeness is similar to Augustus Prima Porta and was created in the same Early Imperial art period.  In contrast, this Middle Aged Flavian Woman on the left is less idealized and more natural.  Her skin shows the passage of time, and although her hair is also in a fashionable up do, it is not nearly as complex as her younger counterpart.  Because her age shows, this woman would have been revered and looked up to when this bust was made.  While this sculpture reflects more of the Roman Republic verism, it was created around the same time as the Young Flavian Woman, about the 1^st century CE.