Recreating the Fonseca Hairstyle

Abstract

Roman women’s hairstyles of the late first century AD are notable for their voluminous frontal hair. Described by Juvenal as "tiers upon tiers" of curls (Sat. 6. 502-3), and by Martial as a "circle of hair" (Ep. 2.66.1) the development of this style is epitomized by the portrait of an anonymous woman known as the Fonseca bust (Figures 1, 2 and 3. Rome, Museo Capitolino, Stanza degli Imperatori, 15, Inv. 434, photos courtesy of Catherine Stephens). It is commonly held that such frontal arrangements required wigs or hairpieces supported on wire frames.

Keywords

• hair
• roman era
• usa