Statuette of a draped and veiled woman,

end of the 4th century BCE

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.