Villa of Quintilii Marble Head of Cleopatra Models Melon Hairstyle

Summary: A Villa of Quintilii marble head of Cleopatra models the melon hairstyle associated with the Ancient Greek, Egypt-based state, the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

Side view of Villa of the Quintilii's marble head of Cleopatra shows melon hairstyle's characteristic segmented, braided rows gathered in bun at nape of neck; Museo Gregoriano Profano (Gregoriano Profano Museum), lower floor of Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums); Friday, May 9, 2008, 14:12: Sergey Sosnovskiy (Ancientrome), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

A Villa of Quintilii marble head of Cleopatra models the melon hairstyle associated with queens of ancient Egypt's Macedonian Greek-ruled Ptolemaic Kingdom.

The carefully arranged coiffure depicted on the marble head of Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE) entailed sectioning all hair shafts, backward from the forehead to the ends, into braided rows for gathering into a low bun, usually at the nape of the neck. The resemblance of the hairstyle's segmented sections to lengthwise ridged-melon rinds occasioned its designation as melonenfrisur ("melon hairstyle") by German scholars, according to American scholar of Ancient Roman art and architecture Diana E.E. (Elizabeth Edelman) Kleiner (born Sep. 18, 1947) in Cleopatra and Rome (Chapter 9, page 135), published in autumn 2005.

Melon hairstyling in the Ptolemaic Kingdom (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία, Ptolemaike basileia; Latin: Regnum Ptolemaicum) dated to the founding of the Ancient Greek state in 305 BCE by Ptolemy I Soter (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, Ptolemaios Soter "Ptolemy the Savior"; Latin: Ptolemy I Soter; ca. 367-282 BC), Macedonian Greek bodyguard and general in the entourage of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon; Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; Latin: Alexander Magnus; July 20/21, 356-June 10/11, 323 BC). With the intricate melonic hairstyle, Cleopatra evoked a queenly look popularized since Ptolemy I and thereby established herself as "more traditionalist than trendsetter," explained Diana Kleiner in "Cleopatra Worked Her Power Hair," her interview with Discovery Communications senior correspondent Jennifer Viegas, published March 13, 2006.

Arsinoe II and Berenice II were depicted with the iconic hairstyle, according to American independent ancient history scholar and retired education technologist Mary Harrsch in "Melon hairstyles and mummy masks of the Roman Period," posted Dec. 28, 2020, on The Roman Times section of her Ancient Times website. Arsinoe II (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσινόη, Arsinoe; 316-ca. 270/268 BCE) was the first daughter of Ptolemy I and his second queen, Berenice I (Ancient Greek: Βερενίκη, Berenike; ca. 340-ca. 279/268 BCE). Berenice II (Ancient Greek: Βερενίκη Ευεργέτις, Berenike Euergetis, "Berenice the Benefactress"; Latin: Berenice II Euergetis I; ca. 267/266-221 BCE) became queen through her marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης, Ptolemaios Euergetes, "Ptolemy the Benefactor"; Latin: Ptolemaeus III Euergetes I; ca. 284/280-ca. 222 BCE), third Ptolemaic ruler and Ptolemy I's grandson. Berenice II namesakes Coma Berenices -- Berenice's Hair constellation.

Cleopatra coin, minted ca. 51-30 BCE, with (obverse) melon-hairstyled Cleopatra and (reverse) inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ arching over thunderbolt-perching eagle: Otto Nickl, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Self-portrait coins struck by Cleopatra consistently depicted her in right profile, with a "prominent nose" and with a royal diadem adorning her melon coiffure on the obverse, according to American archaeologist and Ohio State University emeritus professor of classics Duane W. Roller (born Oct. 7, 1946) in Cleopatra: Biography (Appendix 6. The Iconography of Cleopatra VII, page 179), published in 2011. Also, the reverse of all of her coinage included the inscription of ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ("Queen Cleopatra").

The Villa of Quintilii marble head is regarded "more or less universally" as the "one undisputed Cleopatra," according to British archaeologist and Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley (born Feb. 25, 1960) in Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (Chapter Two, page 60), published in 2008. The marble head was discovered by Venceslao Pezolli during his 1783-1784 excavations at the Villa of the Quintilii, according to ancient art curators Carlos A. Picón and Seán Hemingway in the Catalogue (page 303) for "Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World," exhibited Monday, April 18, through Sunday, July 17, 2016, at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The marble head was added in 1784 to the collections of the Vatican Museum (Musei Vaticani), according to the museum's online catalogue (inventory number MV.38511.0.0). Its inventory record dates the marble find to 47 to 44 BCE, therefore, contemporaneous with Cleopatra's lifetime and with her Roman stayovers.

The Villa of the Quintilii (Italian: Villa dei Quintili; Latin: Villa Quintiliana) lies in ruins at the fifth milestone of the Via Appia Antica ("Old or Ancient Appian Way"), south of central Rome. The extensive residential complex was built in the first half of the second century CE for brothers Sextus Quintilius Condianus (Italian: Sesto Quintilio Condiano) and Sextus Quintilius Valerius Maximus (Italian: Sesto Quintilio Valerio Massimo). Governmental positions held by the brothers includes consulships in 151 CE, during the emperorship (March 7, 161-March 17, 180) of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (April 26, 121-March 17, 180 CE).

In 182 CE, Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus (Aug. 31, 161-Dec. 31, 192 CE), son and successor (March 17/18, 180-Dec. 31, 192 CE) of Quintilii-admirer Marcus Aurelius, imperially confiscated the Villa of the Quintilii. The last of the seven Roman emperors of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty (96-192 CE) had the brothers executed as supposed conspirators in a failed assassination and coup strategized by Commodus's older sister, Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla "Lucilla" (March 7, 148 or 150-182 CE).

back view of Villa of the Quintilii's marble head of melon-hairstyled Cleopatra; Museo Gregoriano Profano (Gregoriano Profano Museum), lower floor of Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums); Friday, May 9, 2008, 14:13: Sergey Sosnovskiy (Ancientrome), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Side view of Villa of the Quintilii's marble head of Cleopatra shows melon hairstyle's characteristic segmented, braided rows gathered in bun at nape of neck; Museo Gregoriano Profano (Gregoriano Profano Museum), lower floor of Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums); Friday, May 9, 2008, 14:12: Sergey Sosnovskiy (Ancientrome), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_VII,_Marble,_40-30_BC,_Vatican_Museums_003.jpg

Cleopatra coin, minted ca. 51-30 BCE, with (obverse) melon-hairstyled Cleopatra and (reverse) inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ arching over thunderbolt-perching eagle: Otto Nickl, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_Mint_Alexandria.jpg

back view of Villa of the Quintilii's marble head of melon-hairstyled Cleopatra; Museo Gregoriano Profano (Gregoriano Profano Museum), lower floor of Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums); Friday, May 9, 2008, 14:13: Sergey Sosnovskiy (Ancientrome), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_VII,_Marble,_40-30_BC,_Vatican_Museums_006.jpg

For further information:

Catalogo Musei Vaticani. "Inventario: MV.38511.0.0. Descrizione: Testa ritratto di Cleopatra VII, pertinente a una statua eseguita probabilmente quando la regina era ospite di Cesare a Roma. Il diadema regale a fascia poteva essere rivestito da una lamina in bronzo dorato e completato da un ureo, anch'esso in metallo. Datazione: 47-44 a.C. a.C. Materia: marmo pario. Misure: cm 39 x 20 x 20. Provenienza: da Roma, Villa dei Quintili, scavi 1784. Collocazione: SCV > Edificio Paolino > Museo Gregoriano Profano > Settore 4 -- Aurai." Musei Vaticani > Collections > Online Catalogue > Consult the Catalogue.
Available @ https://catalogo.museivaticani.va/index.php/Detail/objects/MV.38511.0.0

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