Harvard Art Museums > 1960.503: Woman or Girl with Articulated Limbs Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Woman or Girl with Articulated Limbs , 1960.503,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, May 03, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/290814. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1960.503 Title Woman or Girl with Articulated Limbs Classification Sculpture Work Type statuette, sculpture Date 5th century BCE Places Creation Place: Europe, Greece Period Classical period Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/290814 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta Technique Mold-made Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson Accession Year 1960 Object Number 1960.503 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Only the torso is preserved. The torso of a woman or girl with articulated limbs, perhaps a dancer. Appears to be nude. Would have been originally painted, but only small traces of white ground and a marron pigment are extant. Solid. Mold-made body with modeled front and flat back. Would have had handmade arms and legs; shoulders and hips are pierced horizontally for their attachment. Commentary Because these figurines have limbs that move they are often called "dolls." Where they? Perhaps! Children play with all sorts of things, even when they are not supposed to. Did they function exclusively as dolls? Unlikely. Since they probably represent ritual dancers, they could have had a more "serious" religious function. Were these uses mutually exclusive? Not at all! The beauty of figurines is that they could have fulfilled many different roles depending on who held them, and when, and where. Indeed, their roles are still evolving, as today they work as objects that allow us to learn about the lived lives of past people. Similar examples said to be from Corinth. See, for instance, 1865,0720.36 at the British Museum. Related Works 1955.117 Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs Sculpture 1935.35.28 "Doll" or Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs Sculpture 1925.30.84 Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs Sculpture Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
