Woman in Pointed Cap, 6th century BCE or modern

Woman in Pointed Cap

6th century BCE or modern · Sculpture

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Woman in Pointed Cap” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the sculpture

The cloaked figure stands frontally wearing a conical hairstyle and a long cloak. The figure wears her hair in a conical (tutulus) style that is rendered to look like a cap, with a bottom edge of her hair visible on the back of her head (1). The details of the face are unclear, but the figure has protruding almond-shaped eyes, a prominent and pointed chin, and a small, short nose that is rather high on her face. Her body is flat below the neck, with smooth, sloping shoulders. The figure appears to wear a long, seamless cloak, with sleeves ending at approximately the figure’s elbow, and the hem falling to above the figure’s pointed shoes. There are no internal details on the cloak, front or back, although some indications of shape of the body under the cloak around the arms, shoulders, and lower body are visible on the back.

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The figure’s hands are free of the cloak and separated from the body. The right hand is raised up and bent backward; the left hand, unnaturally long, is held low with palm out and arching toward the body. The figure wears shoes with long curling toes, probably representing calcei repandi (2). The feet are together, directly above the tang, with only the toes of the shoes separated. The authenticity of this piece is uncertain.

NOTES:

1. See L. Bonfante, Etruscan Dress, 2nd edn. (Baltimore, 2003) 75-76. Compare also A. Caravale, Museo Claudio Faina di Orvieto: Bronzetti votivi (Milan, 2003) 56-58, nos. 24-29; and more stylized examples like 1995.1141.

2. Bonfante 2003 (supra 1) 60-64.

Lisa M. Anderson

Harvard Art Museums

Details

Accession number
1952.17

In the catalog

Sources

On view at Harvard Art Museums

Museum page