South Italian Figurine: Head with Knidian Coiffure

Inv. No.: 87.226
Provenance: South Italy (probably Sicily)
Date: 3rd-2nd century
Height: 51mm
Width: 32mm
Depth: 37mm
 
Cottier-Angeli gift.

A finely modelled head of a woman with hair rolled over at the sides and pulled into a knot at the nape of the neck in the manner of the Knidian Aphrodite of Praxiteles. She has delicate features and a pensive expression. The head is inclined to her right. An air bubble in the clay has burst leaving a small hole in her left eye. The clay is light orange-buff and it is covered with dark incrustation. A small amount of white remains on the hair.

Function:
A fragment of a figurine, probably a votive offering.

Manufacture:
A solid, mould-made piece.

Bibliography:
Bell, M., III, Morgantina Studies, Volume 1: The Terracottas, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1981, 51-67, 75-76.

Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, London, Ward Lock, 1974, 66-68.

Higgins, R. A., Greek Terracottas, London, Methuen, 1967, 124-125.

Comparanda:
Bell, M., III, Morgantina Studies, Volume 1: The Terracottas, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1981, Plates 94-104 (female heads), especially Plate 97, 516 (hairstyle).

Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, London, Ward Lock, 1974, Figs. 75-76 (Hellenistic South Italian standing female figurines).

Higgins, R. A., Greek Terracottas, London, Methuen, 1967, Plate 59, B, C, E (Hellenistic Sicilian female figurines).