Greek Figurine: Boar
Inv. No.: 69.008
Provenance: Greece
Date: 5th century BC
Height: 66mm
Length: 103mm
A figurine of a slightly crouching, standing boar set on a low plinth. He has moulded ears and eyes, a pointed snout and a wrinkled neck. There is a crack along the line where the two sides were originally joined together; a chip is missing from the back, above the hind quarters. The bottom part of the front end has been broken off and re-joined. The clay is light orange in colour; it is very abraded and traces of white remain.
Function:
The presence of a small piece of clay inside the animal suggests that it was a child rattle, but such pieces were also used for votive or funerary purposes. Pigs were especially sacred to the goddess Demeter.
Manufacture:
The two sides were made in separate moulds and then joined together before firing.
Bibliography:
Kanowski, M.G., The Antiquities Collection, catalogue, Department of Classics and Ancient History, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 1978, 48.
Sotheby's Catalogue, 29 July 1969, No. 328.
Comparanda:
Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, London, Ward Lock, 1974, Fig. 29 (5th century boar from Rhodes).
Higgins, R. A., Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, second edition, London, British Museum, 1970, I (Plates), Plates 33, 177-182 (Rhodian) and 90, 691 (Attic); see also Volume 1: Text (1969), 76-78, 184.
Vassilika, E., Greek and Roman Art, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998, Plate 23 (a boar with a cake; Boeotian, early 5th century).