South Italian Figurine: Loom weight with infant Heracles
Inv. No.: 86.007
Provenance: South Italy (probably Taras)
Date: 4th-3rd century BC
Height: 74mm
Depth: 35 mm (maximum)
A thick, terracotta loom weight with a flat front and back, each of which is decorated with figures in relief, a rounded top and sides and a flat base. Near the top it is pierced by two holes. On one side is a kneeling figure, probably the infant Heracles, holding an animal by its tail. The other side is decorated with the profile heads of a man and a woman, shown embracing and about to kiss. A large but superficial chip is missing from the base of this side, on the left. There is also a small surface chip missing from above the head of Heracles; otherwise, the piece is in good condition. The smooth clay is a light creamy colour.
Function:
Loom weights were used to tension warp threads in the weaving of fabric on warp-weighted looms. It is possible that this decorated weight was tied onto objects and used as a means of labelling or identifying them.
Manufacture:
A mould-made piece.
Decoration:
- Side A: Heracles is shown as a child with a frontal torso and hips twisted so that he leans on his bent right leg, which points to the right, while his left knee nearly rests on the base. His left foot extends to the right, behind him. His head turns slightly to the right, looking at the animal (a fox?) that he holds up by the tail in his left hand. In his lowered right hand he perhaps holds the end of a cloak upon which he is kneeling. A worn mould seems to have been used: the hair is short and curly and facial details are largely obscured.
- Side B: a scene of two lovers, perhaps Eros and Psyche, or Ariadne and Dionysos, about to kiss. On the left is the profile head of a young man with short, wavy hair and smooth features. The right hand of his companion reaches around the base of his head. He faces a young woman, also shown in profile, who has hair gathered in a roll around her face and tied at the nape of her neck. Her features are also even and classical in style. A left hand embraces the back of her neck.
Bibliography:
Charles Ede Catalogue, 137 (1985), 39 a.
Evans, A. J., "Recent Discoveries of Tarentine Terra-cottas", Journal of Hellenic Studies, VII (1886), 41-43.
Davidson, G. R., Corinth. Volume XII: The Minor Objects, Princeton, New Jersey, 1952, 146-172 ("Loom-weights").
Davidson, G. R. and D. B. Thompson, Small Objects from the Pnyx: I, Athens, American School of Classical Studies (Hesperia, Supplement VII), 1943, 65-94 ("Loom-weights").
Herdejürgen, H., Die tarentinischen Terrakotten des 6. bis 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr im Antikenmuseum Basel, Basel, Archäologischer Verlag, (1971), 73.
Hoffmann, M., The Warp-Weighted Loom: Studies in the History and Technology of an Ancient Implement, Studia Norvegica No. 14, Universitetsforlaget, 1964.
Wuilleumier, P., "Les Disques de Tarente", Revue Archéologique, 35 (1932), 26-64.
Comparanda:
Evans, A. J., "Recent Discoveries of Tarentine Terra-cottas", Journal of Hellenic Studies, VII (1886), No. 20, p. 43.
Herdejürgen, H., Die tarentinischen Terrakotten des 6. bis 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr im Antikenmuseum Basel, Basel, Archäologischer Verlag, (1971), Tafel 23, 81 and 82 (Side A), Tafel 24, 81-83 (Side B). , Zurich and Munich, Artemis Verlag, 1994, VII, 2, Psyche 121 b (terracotta relief).
Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae
Lo Porto, F. G., "Metaponto. Regione III", Notizie degli Scavi, XX, Serie VIII (1966), Tavola IV, 1 (very similar).
Vafopoulou-Richardson, C. E., Greek Terracottas, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 1981, No. 18 (Tarentine relief with Eros and Psyche, c. 430-410 BC).
Wuilleumier, P., "Les Disques de Tarente", Revue Archéologique, 35 (1932), Plate IV (similar terracotta objects) and Nos. 100 and 101.