Kneeling Draped Woman

SculptureGreek3rd-2nd century BCE

Kneeling Draped Woman

3rd-2nd century BCE

Description

Mostly complete figurine; missing arms. Kneeling young woman, draped. Her hair is drawn back in a complicated hairdo, similar to “melon” style: separated into four sections, twisted, and brought back into a small ponytail at the nape, with separate locks of curly hair framing the face. She seems to wear a crown of small fruit (perhaps ivy berries). Small head, looks down to the right with joyful expression. Regular features. Oval face with a small forehead. Small eyes with both lids rendered in relief; small, straight nose; small mouth appears to smile. She wears a long chiton under a himation (or mantle) that is falling off her shoulders. She kneels on her left knee, while her right leg is bent, foot flat on the ground, and seems to lean on a bulbous mound behind her. Her arms are missing, but comparable figures suggest that this young woman was playing with knucklebones. She would have thrown the bones (like game pieces) with her right hand, while her left would have held their carrying pouch. Would have been painted originally, now only traces of white ground extant. Hollow. Mold-made in two bivalve molds, likely plaster. Round venthole at middle of back. Detailing of hair incised. The back is modeled, but treatment of folds is more shallow and linear. Attached to a rectangular, narrow base. The clay is bright brick-red and finely levigated; hard-fired.

Classification

Sculpture

Technique

Mold-made

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek

Period

Hellenistic period

Century

3rd-2nd century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

17 × 10 × 11 cm (6 11/16 × 3 15/16 × 4 5/16 in.)

Related Artworks

"Waniugo" Funerary Mask

"Waniugo" Funerary Mask

Unidentified Artist, 20th century

Stained wood with metal [brass?] decoration attached, stored in a brown wood box

20th centuryWest African

Untitled student exercise from Newcomb College

Untitled student exercise from Newcomb College

Unidentified Artist, 1942-1949

20th centuryAmerican

Wild Goat

Unknown Artist, 7th-5th century BCE

Bronze

7th-5th century BCEIranian

Horse and Rider

Horse and Rider

Unidentified Artist, 17th-19th century

Wood

17th-19th centuryDogon?

Head of Warrior (Mars?)

Head of Warrior (Mars?)

Unknown Artist, 300-200 BCE

Terracotta, traces of paint

1st century BCE-1st century CEGreek

Psalter of Melisende

Psalter of Melisende

Unidentified Maker, Copy of 12th century original

Plaster

20th centuryByzantine

Mother and Child

Mother and Child

John Bernard Flannagan, 1934-1935

Red sandstone

20th centuryAmerican

Handle of a Sanctuary Lamp

Handle of a Sanctuary Lamp

Unknown Artist, 1st century BCE

Terracotta; buff clay, red glaze

1st century BCERoman

Fragment of a Carved Statuette

Fragment of a Carved Statuette

Ivory

Economic Value Swiss Throat Lozenges

Economic Value Swiss Throat Lozenges

Joseph Beuys, c. 1977-1980

Package of throat lozenges, inscribed in red fiber-tip ink, stamped

20th centuryGerman

Mounted Court Attendant Wearing Official's Hat, Liangdang Breastplate, and Pointed Boots, His Hands Positioned to Hold the Reins of His Standing, Saddled, and Bridled Horse

Mounted Court Attendant Wearing Official's Hat, Liangdang Breastplate, and Pointed Boots, His Hands Positioned to Hold the Reins of His Standing, Saddled, and Bridled Horse

Unknown Artist, 550 - 577

Molded, gray earthenware with cold-painted pigments; localized areas with cold-painted pigments over white ground

6th centuryChinese

Head from a Tomb Figurine in the Form of a Woman

Head from a Tomb Figurine in the Form of a Woman

Unknown Artist, 1st-2nd century CE

Cold-painted funerary ware: molded gray earthenware with traces of cold-painted pigment over white gesso gound

1st-2nd century CEChinese

Kneeling Draped Woman | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI