Mycenaean Figurine: Psi Shaped Female Figurine
Inv. No.: 83.099
Provenance: Mycenae
Date: c. 1300 BC
Height: 105mm
Diameter: 48mm
A stylised representation of a female figure, probably a goddess, wearing a long narrow skirt and a flaring head-dress. The lower half of the body is columnar in shape, with a spreading base. The torso is a flattened triangle with raised arms and conical breasts while the head is flattened sideways, with the front pinched to form a prominent nose. A plait in the form of a ridge of clay has been added to the back, below the head-dress. Figures of this type are known as "Psi" figures because of their similarity to the shape of the Greek letter C. The arms are perhaps raised in blessing. The clay is orange in colour with the remains of decoration painted in red. The head has been re-attached to the body and there is some restoration of the arms and head-dress.
Function:
This figurine probably represents a goddess and was used for domestic, votive or funerary purposes.
Manufacture:
This statuette was shaped by hand.
Decoration:
- The eyes and head-dress were painted in red, but only traces remain.
- The body also has the remains of red decoration.
Bibliography:
French, E., "The Development of Mycenaean Terracotta Figurines", Annual of the British School at Athens, No. 66 (1971), 101-178 (especially 126-142).
Higgins, R., Minoan and Mycenaean Art, revised edition, London, Thames and Hudson, 1981, 124-127.
Higgins, R. A., Greek Terracotta Figures, London, British Museum, 1969, 12-13.
Higgins, R. A., Greek Terracottas, London, Methuen, 1967, xlix-liv, 1-5, 13-14.
Mylonas, G. E., Mycenae and the Mycenaean Age, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1966, 114-116 (function).
Nicholls, R. V., "Greek Votive Statuettes and Religious Continuity, c. 1200-700 BC", Auckland Classical Essays Presented to E. M. Blaiklock, ed. B. F. Harris, Auckland, Auckland University Press and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1970, 1-37. , August 1983, V236.
Seaby Coin & Medal Bulletin
Comparanda:
Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, London, Ward Lock, 1974, Fig. 7 and Colour Plate on p. 51.
Higgins, R., Minoan and Mycenaean Art, revised edition, London, Thames and Hudson, 1981, Fig. 149.