Statuette of a standing goddess

Unknown

ca. 525–500 BC · terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Colorful details painted on a white slip accentuate the elaborate makeup, accessories, and drapery adorning this female figure. Yellow ocher applied to the headdress, earrings, and garment evokes gold, and red ocher painted on her neck probably depicts a necklace of pomegranates, a symbol of death and rebirth. The headdress with rays suggests the woman is a goddess, perhaps Persephone, queen of the Underworld. Discovered primarily in graves, statuettes of this type may have been intended specifically for funerary use.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 525–500 BC

Medium

terracotta

Culture

Greek, Boeotian

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Purchase, Patricia and Marietta Fried Gift, 2021