Statue of a Peplophoros

Called a peplophoros, this small sculpture copies a Greek original of about 470 B.C. It portrays a woman wearing a peplos, a garment that was pinned at the shoulders and belted at the waist, creating straight, heavy folds to the feet. The elegant simplicity of the statue type appealed to Roman taste. The lost head, arms, and feet would have been fashioned in white marble and attached separately, providing a striking contrast in colors with the dark grey stone of her drapery.