SculptureGreek7th-6th century BCE

Fragmentary Votive Figurine of a Winged Goddess

c. 600 BCE

Description

Flat lead figurine of a winged goddess facing left. Long tresses of hair fall over her shoulders. Her long skirt is decorated with three patterned bands arranged vertically: diamonds, herringbone, and a simple line. A line across the chest indicates that she may be wearing a garment with an overfold, such as a peplos. The feet, top of the head, proper right wing, proper left hand, and tip of the left wing are lost. Other figurines of the same type show that the goddess wore a high, cylindrical headgear (polos), that she may have held wreaths, and that the wings were sickle-shaped. The plain back of the figurine suggests that it was cast in a one-sided mold.

Classification

Sculpture

Technique

Cast

Medium

Lead

Culture

Greek

Period

Archaic period

Century

7th-6th century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

3.7 x 2.2 cm (1 7/16 x 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Humfry Payne Collection (?-1936), England. [Galerie Gunter Puhze, Freiburg, Germany, 2001], sold; to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (2001-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.