South Italian Figurine: Female Figurine
Inv. No.: 82.038
Provenance: South Italy - Taras
Date: 3rd century BC
Height: 289mm
Width: 115mm
A large statuette of an elegant woman, once painted in bright, matt colours. The figure has a relaxed stance with a slightly sinous curve. The head is tilted to her right and she bears her weight on her left leg while her right leg is relaxed with the knee slightly bent. Her right hand rests on her hip and she holds out her left arm (the hand is missing). She is dressed in a sleeveless chiton and a himation that is draped across her left shoulder and over her left arm. The delicate features are both modelled and painted. She wears an elaborate head-dress and has long, wavy hair that descends onto her shoulders. The clay is light orange, white is used for skin, there is some white on the chiton and the himation has remains of bright blue. The figure has been broken into several pieces and re-assembled with some restoration of the drapery at the base. The figure shows the influence of "Tanagra" figurines, first produced in Athens in the 4th century BC, which were indebted to the sculptural style created by Praxiteles.
Function:
Used for funerary purposes (they are usually found in tombs) and perhaps also as toys or household decorations.
Manufacture:
A figurine made from part-moulds that were then joined together, fired and painted. There is also some hand-modelling of the hair and head-dress.
Bibliography:
Higgins, R. A., Greek Terracottas, London, Methuen, 1967, 97-103, 126-129.
Uhlenbrock, J. P., The Coroplast Art: Greek Terracottas of the Hellenistic World, New York, Aristide D. Caratzas, 1990 (especially Malcolm Bell III, "Hellenistic Terracottas of Southern Italy and Sicily", 64-70).
Vassilika, E., Greek and Roman Art, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998, 82 ("Tanagra" Figurines).
Comparanda:
Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, London, Ward Lock, 1974, Figs. 75 (standing woman from South Italy; 3rd century BC) and 79 (Tarentine standing woman; 3rd century BC).
Higgins, R. A., Greek Terracottas, London, Methuen, 1967, Plate 44, C and E (Boeotian standing women).
Richter, G. M. A., The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Handbook of the Greek Collection, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1953, Plate 108, d-f (female figurines; d is Tarentine).
Uhlenbrock, J. P., The Coroplast Art: Greek Terracottas of the Hellenistic World, New York, Aristide D. Caratzas, 1990, Colour Plate 4 and Catalogue no. 41 (standing woman from Taras, mid-3rd century BC), and Fig. 54 (standing woman from Taras).
Webster, T. B. L., Greek Terracottas, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, Penguin, 1950, Plates 37-39 (Tarentine standing woman; late 4th century BC).