Bowl with Female Bust in Relief

Description The central medallion of this black-glazed bowl bears a woman’s bust in relief. Her head turns slightly, while her draped shoulders are frontal. Her hairstyle is arranged in waves and rolls, partially wrapped by a fillet. The medallion is surrounded by a border of stamped circles, and additional rings of egg-and-dart and raised molding decorate the interior. The female busts in the various examples of this type of bowl differ in clothing and hairstyle; it is unknown whether they represent women or goddesses.

Provenance Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902