17. Greek standing goddess with pendant, Boeotia, Archaic Period, c.600-550 BC
Terracotta
Height: 11.7cm
12166
Copyright The Artist
£ 1,800
Formed from local clay, the standing female figure has a flat, plank-like body, an elongated neck, and a bird-shaped face. Her hair falls in thick masses over each shoulder and...
Formed from local clay, the standing female figure has a flat, plank-like body, an elongated neck, and a bird-shaped face. Her hair falls in thick masses over each shoulder and is adorned with black horizontal stripes. She is dressed in a long garment that reaches her feet, and wears a headdress (polos) featuring an applied rosette with painted decoration. A necklace with an amulet hangs around her neck. The arms are stylised as simple triangular projections. Loss to the headdress, and to the lower edge of the garment, a small loss to the hair, and some incrustation.
Plank figurines form a distinct category of terracotta figures, nicknamed "Pappades" by the villagers of Boeotia due to their tall headdresses (poloi) and elaborately decorated long garments. A defining feature of all Boeotian plank figurines is their white slip, which served as a base for painted decoration in black and red, and, from the mid-6th century BC onward, in yellow as well. The exact meaning of these figurines remains unclear. Their frequent appearance in burial contexts suggests a possible connection to the worship of the chthonic deities Demeter and Persephone. Another interpretation proposes that they are clay representations of “daidala”—wooden effigies (xoana) dressed as brides—described in ancient texts as being used in cult rituals on Mount Kithairon in Boeotia in honor of Hera, the wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage.
Plank figurines form a distinct category of terracotta figures, nicknamed "Pappades" by the villagers of Boeotia due to their tall headdresses (poloi) and elaborately decorated long garments. A defining feature of all Boeotian plank figurines is their white slip, which served as a base for painted decoration in black and red, and, from the mid-6th century BC onward, in yellow as well. The exact meaning of these figurines remains unclear. Their frequent appearance in burial contexts suggests a possible connection to the worship of the chthonic deities Demeter and Persephone. Another interpretation proposes that they are clay representations of “daidala”—wooden effigies (xoana) dressed as brides—described in ancient texts as being used in cult rituals on Mount Kithairon in Boeotia in honor of Hera, the wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage.
Provenance
Kate Elderkin (b.1897) and George Elderkin (1879-1965), New Jersey, USAGeorge Wicker Elderkin (1879–1965) was an archaeologist, art historian and professor at Princeton University. His wife Kate (b.1897) was a close collaborator and fellow scholar, credited alongside George in many publications.
