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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1955.117
Title
Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
5th century BCE
Period
Classical period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/291346

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
H. 8.2 × W. 3.2 × D. 1.3 cm (3 1/4 × 1 1/4 × 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Aimée and Rosamond Lamb, Milton, MA (by 1955), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1955.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Aimée and Rosamond Lamb
Accession Year
1955
Object Number
1955.117
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Head and torso of a dancing woman or girl with articulated limbs (sometimes called a “doll”); the articulated limbs are not extant.

She wears a high, cylindrical headdress (a polos) over long hair that hangs over her shoulders. She is clothed in a short chiton or tunic. There are grooves present on the left outer edge and left bottom corner (front) of the torso/tunic, as well as on the right bottom corner (front). Additionally, there are shallow vertical indentations along the bottom “hem” of her tunic, perhaps indicating a fringe or a decorated hemline.

Solid. Mold-made. The front is modeled, and the back is flat. Features are worn. Horizontal piercings in the shoulder and hips would have allowed the attachment of the limbs. (Legs would have been suspended between the three flanges at the bottom of the body.) The rightmost (her left) flange is chipped. Additionally, there is a vertical piercing in the top of the head/polos.

Fine, well-levigated fabric of light reddish yellow clay. Some white slip/ground is present, especially on the left side of her torso and the right side of her face. No other coloration is visible. Dark accretion is present, particularly on the upper portion of the torso, neck, face, and polos (headdress).

Said to have been found in a tomb near Troy.

Related Works

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