Why Are So Many Roman Statues Headless?

Ancient beheadings and transportation mishaps are just some of the many reasons ancient statues lose their heads. When museums display artworks, they typically try to show the complete piece. It's unusual to see a half-missing painting or an unraveled tapestry. Yet, in the context of ancient Roman statues, minor damages like broken noses, missing fingers, and especially severed heads are almost expected. To understand why so many Roman statues are headless, an "archaeological CSI" approach is required, as Rachel Kousser, a professor of classics and art history at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York, explains.

Natural Weak Points and ‘Damnatio Memoriae’

The neck is a natural weak point on the human body, and this is true for statues as well. Over time, due to accidents during display, transportation, or transfers between owners, the head is often the first part to break. However, not all head losses are accidental. Romans deliberately beheaded their statues sometimes through a process known as "damnatio memoriae." An unpopular emperor could have his memory condemned posthumously, leading to the erasure of his name from records and the mutilation of his portraits and statues. Emperor Nero is a notable example; many of his statues were consequently damaged or modified.

Interchangeable Features

Roman sculptors also crafted statues with detachable heads intentionally. Kenneth Lapatin, an antiquities curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, notes that this approach allowed different materials to be used for the body and the face, multiple sculptors to work on one piece, or future replacement of the head. Statues built this way can be recognized by the hole in the body for the head insertion and a smooth edge on the severed head, which contrasts with jagged breakpoints of accidental damages.

Modern-Day Decapitations

Even in modern times, some statues were decapitated illicitly. High market value has made Roman statues lucrative for art dealers, who discovered they could maximize profit by selling the head and body as separate artifacts, a practice exemplified by the "Statue of a Draped Woman" at the Getty. This 7-foot-tall statue, purchased in 1972, had archival photographs affirming that it still had its head in the 1930s. When the museum’s curator identified a suspiciously matching head being sold by an antiquities dealer, it became apparent the pieces were forcefully separated during the 20th century to maximize profit. Although the neck was damaged by "hacking" and "drilling," conservators managed to reunite the pieces, achieving a rare restoration success.

By considering factors like natural weak points, deliberate beheadings, interchangeable features, and modern market manipulations, the reasons behind headless Roman statues become clearer. Through activities resembling forensic work, experts like Kousser and Lapatin piece together the historical and modern reasons behind why so many ancient Roman statues are headless today.

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