Catalogue Entry听
This vase is one of听a collection of Greek artifacts听held by the CU Art Museum.
Gift to CU Classics Department
Transferred to CU Museum of Natural History
听(2006)
Height: 8.9 cm听
Width: 3.5 cm
Depth: 2.9 cm
Date: 6th century B.C.E.
Origin: Possibly Laconia (Greece)
Description: Handmade terracotta figurine of a standing female figure. She wears a polos on her head and four rounded disks or balls, perhaps amulets, are added to the front of the chest.听
Additional photos of this object show details of its back and decorative features.听
Discussion
This female terracotta figurine has a cylindrical body that splays slightly at the base. She wears a high hat called a polos. Added to the chest are four circular disks or balls that may represent amulets. The face is pinched and resembles a bird. No findspot is available for the figurine, so its particular origin and function are still in question. It is likely, however, that the figurine was a funerary offering听and its general appearance suggests a Boeotian or Laconian origin.听
Female figurines of this date are often dressed in a garment called a peplos and wear a low polos, possibly suggesting an identification as a goddess or priestess. One figurine in the CU Art Museum's collection, a 6th century B.C.E. East Greek figurine, is a female figure holding a bird, perhaps a dove, suggesting an identification as the goddess Aphrodite. In this case, the amulets around the figurine's chest might represent pomegranates, which would suggest that this, too, is a goddess and not a mortal woman. A听6th century B.C.E. Boeotian figurine in the CU Art Museum's collection, on the other hand, wears a polos but has no additional attributes that may suggest a more precise identification.听
For听the ancient Greeks, terracotta听figurines had a multitude of uses in both domestic and ritual contexts. They could be听buried in graves听as a gift to the deceased听or brought to a temple or sanctuary as a votive offering. Often, they may have simply been household decoration听or a small statuette in a domestic shrine. The widespread dissemination of terracotta figurines indicates how popular they were,听while听their various functions and meanings demonstrate how important they were for the different aspects of ancient Greek life.听
References
- R.A. Higgins, Greek Terracottas (London: Methuen, 1967): 25-50.
- Felicity Nicholson, Greek,听Etruscan, and Roman Pottery and Small Terracottas: A Brief Guide for the Small Collector听( London: Cory Adams and Mackay Ltd.,听1965): 50-54.
- Chara Tzavella-Evjen,听Greek and Roman Vases and Statuettes from the University of Colorado Collection听(Athens: Archaiologikon Deltion, 1973): 192-197.听