Statuette of a Goddess
600-580 BCE
Medium
terracotta
Dimensions
18.2 × 7.7 × 6.8 cm (7 3/16 × 3 1/16 × 2 11/16 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13981
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This terracotta sculpture was fashioned from locally abundant clay in Boeotia, situated to the northwest of Athens. The standing female wears a tall headdress and a painted necklace with a pomegranate pendant, which suggests that she depicts either Demeter or Persephone, goddesses of the harvest and agricultural fertility, respectively. Statuettes like this one were created in great numbers, probably as gifts to the gods or to be placed in graves.
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...