Head of virtue in marble - Italy (Siena) XIVth century

This small marble head belongs to the Sienese style of the XIV century. The Sienese Gothic sculpture is an artistic style that developed in Siena from the XIII century. Its main characteristics lie in the graceful and elegant spirit of these figures with soft expressions, but also in the complex drapery. These sculptures are often associated with the Gothic architecture of the city of Siena and are influenced by the French Gothic and Byzantine style.
Sienese sculptors used sophisticated techniques as in the case of our work. Here, the artist uses the technique of the drill bit, a tool that makes it possible to form small cylindrical cavities in hard materials like marble.
Often religious, the themes used in Sienese Gothic sculpture can also be secular. Here, our marble head could be an allegory of a theological virtue.
The elongated features and the work on the hair of our marble head remind us of the manner of Tino di Camaino (1280-1337), a Sienese Gothic sculptor.