Limestone figure of a woman

Unknown

late 6th century BCE · Limestone · Greek and Roman Art

The figure is elaborately dressed in a chiton (long undergarment), a himation (overgarment), sandals, a diadem, necklaces, earrings, and spiral bracelets with snake terminals. With her left hand she holds both her drapery and the handle of a mirror. She stands on a ledge that abutted on something else in back and that is supported by figures, of which two heads remain. This work figured prominently during the 1880s, which controversy raged over the interventions to which Cesnola had subjected his objects. The piece was clearly once part of a larger whole, and the illogical gesture of holding her garment and a mirror simultaneously indicates that there was also modern recutting.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 6th century BCE

Medium

Limestone

Culture

Cypriot

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76