Head of a Girl

The braided hairstyle of this young girl is known as a "melon coiffure," because the shape resembles a lobed melon. Her head is encircled by a double braid wound all the way around and behind the ears, with no indication of its starting point or end. Her eyelids are lowered, and she wears a subtle smile. There are remnants of a “Venus ring” on her neck, considered a mark of health and beauty in antiquity. 

The head may have originally belonged to a full-length statue representing a little girl who participated in cult rituals in the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron, not far from Athens. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and protector of women in childbirth. Girls from leading Athenian families served a period of time in the sanctuary between the ages of five and ten performing cult functions, before returning home to their families. This time in the sanctuary served as an initiation rite before puberty and was meant to guarantee a fertile marriage for them later in life. Because the bear plays a role in the mythology of the goddess Artemis, during their time in the sanctuary, the girls were called "little bears" and wore special clothes meant to resemble bearskin. The statue to which this head belonged may have been one of many depicting little girls holding rabbits, birds and other small pets that the families of the "bears" dedicated in the sanctuary to commemorate their daughters' service.