Marble
H: 8.5 cm
Allegedly from Thessaly
Late Neolithic
Early 4th millennium B.C.
Condition: white marble; the front, part of the sides and the head stained and incrusted with very hard limestone deposits.
This idol is almost certainly Thessalian, supported not so much by the alleged provenance but by the characteristics of terracotta figurines from various Thessalian sites.
However, the variety in shapes and details does not offer valid comparisons for either its parts or whole, a consequence of the obvious freedom enjoyed by artists of the period.
The statuette's mastery of line, shape and volume reveals the immanent presence and power of a religious and social community.
The steatopygous and fertility characteristics make her in our eyes eminently satisfying.
Exhibited and Published:
Kunst der Kykladen, cat. no. 16A, p. 422.
Published:
Demargne, P.: Naissance de l'Art Grec. Univers des Formes (Paris, 1964), fig. 37, pp. 438, 36 ill.
