Detail View: The AMICA Library: Deity Figure
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AMICA ID:
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DMA_.1974.88.FA
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AMICA Library Year:
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2003
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Object Type:
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Sculpture
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Creator Nationality:
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Boeotia, Greek
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Boeotia, Greek
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Title:
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Deity Figure
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View:
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Full View
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Creation Date:
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First half of 6th century B.C
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Creation Start Date:
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-599
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Creation End Date:
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-550
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Materials and Techniques:
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Terracotta, paint
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Dimensions:
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Overall: 8 5/16 x 3 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (21.12 x 8.89 x 4.44 cm.)
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AMICA Contributor:
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Dallas Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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Dallas, Texas, USA
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ID Number:
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1974.88.FA
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Credit Line:
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Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark
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Rights:
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Context:
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These small, painted ceramic figures were offerings to the fertility goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Demeter, goddess of the grain crops, was the Greek version of the Earth Mother. Her daughter Persephone, according to myth, was stolen by Hades, lord of the underworld. When Demeter mourned her daughter, the land withered and died. Persephone was released to the upper world, but since she had eaten several pomegranate seeds during her captivity, she had to return to Hades for the winter months. This kind of life/death/rebirth fertility myth has parallels in the Near East and Egypt. These attractive mold-made figurines come from Boeotia, the country north of Attica, which produced a large volume of ceramic offering figures in the Archaic period.
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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DMA_.1974_88_FA.tif
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