On view
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Seated Female Figure,
ca. 550–500 BCE
Greek, Argive
y1948-51
Tanagra figurines like this one can be traced to a cemetery near the Boeotian city of Tanagra, in central Greece. The red-clay figures were generally made in molds and then coated with white slip and painted. Traces of red and blue pigments are still visible on the white in this example. The woman stands heavily draped with her himation, or mantle, wrapped snuggly around her head, framing her delicate facial features. She looks down and to the right but lifts her gaze slightly, as though acknowledging someone, a slight smile about her lips. The broad contours of her body are visible through the drapery, which in some places is pulled taut and in others hangs in folds, a torsional counterpoint that is a hallmark of Tanagra figurines and suggests a powerful sense of movement.
Information
Title
Seated Female Figure
Dates
ca. 550–500 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
22.5 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm (8 7/8 x 4 1/8 x 4 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Caroline G. Mather Fund
Object Number
y1948-51
Culture
Period
Type
Materials
Subject
Purchased from Vladimir G. Simkhovitch in 1948.
- "Recent accessions," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University vol. 8, no. 1 (1949): p. 15., p. 15
-
Adriana Calinescu, Of gods and mortals: ancient art from the V.G. Simkhovitch Collection : Indiana University Art Museum, special exhibitions gallery, September 16-December 20, 1987, (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Art Museum, 1987).
, - Wolf Rudolph and Adriana Calinescu, Ancient art from the V.G. Simkhovitch Collection, (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Art Museum in association with Indiana University Press, 1988)., cat. no. 88; p. 106
