The Re-Creation of a Young Roman Girl Essay examples -- Rome Culture T

The Re-Creation of a Young Roman Girl At seven years old this young, upper-class1 Roman girl, daughter of a prominent political figure, is posing for a portrait of her face. Her father is demanding her whole family have one done so that everyone can see their family displayed for years to come. As predicted by her father, Roman art historians are very interested in these portraits and the past they represent. In 1998 this bust is a rare and exceptional find among art collectors. This portrait is now one of twenty-one sculptures found in the Riley Collection of Roman Portrait Sculpture at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. This portrait is rare, first because it is a portrait of a child, and second because it is portrait of a young girl. Children were often exposed in ancient Rome, especially young girls. The reasons for exposure are probably monetary. Poor families could not afford many children, and wealthy families did not want to have to divide their inheritance any more than necessary. Boys were most often kept because they would be the heir to the family and preserve the family wealth, while daughters would require a dowry to be given to her husband.2 When the portrait is finished, this young girl and her two older brothers, would be immortalized in stone. This portrait may have been chosen to be made at this time because the girl's father had reached a certain political status, or because this girl had reached an age where it was believed she had survived the hardest part of her life, her childhood, or a combination of both.3 It is unlikely this portrait is a funerary memorial due to the simple fact that it is a round sculpture rather than relief. Most grave markers were decorated with relief in the ancient time... ...n citizens. In order for that to occur, both parents had to be legal Roman citizens. Marriage was a necessary function for survival of lineage, not something any Roman man wanted to be trapped in (Dixon, 1992, 60-65). See Lefkowitz and Fant on guardianship and the Julian Marriage Laws. 24 Dixon, 1992, 72-75. 25 Women were seen to be too careless to manage their own affairs, even as adults. However, women could appoint their own tutor, and may have chosen one strictly for social purposes and managed their own money. See Lefkowitz and Fant on the laws of guardianship. 26 Foss tells the story of Pomponia, the wife of Quintus Cicero, when she is a guest somewhere. She was not invited to have the responsibility of organizing and supervising the feast at the estate. Because she is treated as a guest, she refuses to attend the meal. 27 Foss, 1995.