Statuette of an Old Woman

This solid, cast bronze statuette depicts a frail old woman. The objects she originally held are now missing, but the position of her hands and the way she holds her head suggest that she may have been shown in the act of spinning thread. In her left hand, she would have held a distaff with unworked wool, while twisting the thread away from her body with her right hand. She wears a chiton that is slipping off her shoulder, a mantle tied around her waist, and a headscarf. An old woman spinning and wearing the same type of clothing occurs in a variety of sizes and media, including marble. The costume seems to indicate servants or women doing domestic or agricultural tasks.