The Torlonia Caryatid, bearing a large basket on her head, evokes those young girls who, during sacred rituals in the classical age, had the task of carrying a basket full of votive offerings for the gods.
In ancient times, these female figures, known as canephorae, were frequently evoked in architectural contexts and used as columns to support overhead elements. The Torlonia Caryatid, an imposing figure, adorned with a chiton and dress, bears on her bosom the effigy of the mythological Medusa. It is a skilful replica of a model devised in the Roman age based on the better known Caryatids of the Erechtheion of Athens and destined to ornate the Small Propylaea, built in Eleusis around 50 BC on the orders of Appius Claudius Pulcher.
Inventory: MT 485
Material: White marble
Technique: Work sculpted through the use of: chisels (also square-tipped and toothed) rasps
Dating: Imperial era
Origin: Studio Cavaceppi