Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 3122623, member: 75937&quot;]Toward the end of Severus&#039; reign and in the early part of Caracalla&#039;s stint on the throne, Julia Domna adopted a different style, perhaps necessitated by a form of hair loss (see video, below). The bun is reduced in size and she has begun to incorporate a braided border of hair to frame the sides and bottom of the coiffure, which foreshadows her later &quot;helmet-style&quot; hairdo. Typically, a ringlet of hair peeks out from the helmet to adorn her cheek:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794859[/ATTACH]</p><p>Denarius under Septimius Severus.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794860[/ATTACH]</p><p>Denarius under Caracalla. Note the new inscription, IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, characteristic of the empress&#039;s coins issued by her son.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the style seen on this statue in the Capitoline museum. Note the ringlet decorating her cheek:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794861[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Forensic hairdresser Janet Stephens postulates this change in her hairstyle may have arisen out of necessity--portraits and statues of the empress suggest she had begun to suffer from a type of hair loss called distal-type androgenetic allopecia. This video shows how this coiffure may have been accomplished:</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]68LEUXw2QJU[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, coins issued at the end of her life demonstrate her late-period hairdo. The bun has shrunk in size such that it is perhaps better described as a queue-knot. The braided border framing the the sides and bottom of the hair persists and the entire hairdo resembles a helmet. The ringlet decorating her cheek is maintained as well:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794862[/ATTACH]</p><p>Antoninianus issued under Caracalla.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794864[/ATTACH]</p><p>AE as under Caracalla.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794922[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]794865[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]794892[/ATTACH]</p><p>Orichalcum sestertii under Caracalla.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the style seen on this statue in the Museo Ostia Antica, where she is depicted veiled. The braided border of hair at the sides and bottom of the hairdo is clearly rendered. Note the ringlet of hair adorning her cheeks:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794884[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The resemblance between Julia Domna&#039;s &quot;helmet-style&quot; coiffure and this doll found in a child&#039;s tomb near the Via Valeria in Tivoli is astonishing and demonstrates how popular the hairstyle became during Julia Domna&#039;s reign.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794875[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in