Harvard Art Museums > 1916.351: Standing Woman Holding a Box 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"Standing Woman Holding a Box , 1916.351,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 24, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/292540. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1916.351 Title Standing Woman Holding a Box Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture, statuette Date late 5th-early 4th century BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Boeotia Period Classical period Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/292540 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta, remains of white slip, traces of paint Technique Mold-made Dimensions 37 x 11 cm (14 9/16 x 4 5/16 in.) Base: 13.1 x 7.8 cm (5 3/16 x 3 1/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Edward P. Bliss; bequeathed to Fogg Art Museum, 1916. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Edward P. Bliss Accession Year 1916 Object Number 1916.351 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 Wearing peplos falling over waist band in graduated folds. Upper part plain, skirt falling in small pleats. Right arm bent with hand resting on breast. Left arm bent holding a square box. Right leg bent. Small face resting on long neck. Elaborate headdress surmounted by plain polos. Traces of red on hair, skirt, base. Trace of blue on upper part of peplos. Large rectangular venthole. Bottom open. Broken vertically in half and repaired. Head replaced on shoulders. Hard pale brown clay; powdery surface; remains of white slip and Egyptian blue. Commentary This terracotta figurine, of a woman holding a box, likely served a religious purpose as a votive offering (or gift) to a deity. Figurines of this type are often found in votive deposits in sanctuaries and occasionally in tombs in the late Classical period. Often, like this object, they perhaps represent an image of the dedicator engaged in cult or ritual for the honored deity, sometimes carrying ritual objects as if they were participating in a religious procession. See, for example, 1919.520, another figurine in the collection depicting a woman holding a sash or fillet cloth instead of a box. Comparison with other similar female figurines (particularly her intricately plaited hairstyle and wide headdress) suggest that this figurine was likely made in Boeotia, central Greece. Similar, contemporary terracotta figurines of young men from Boeotia also often wear an elaborate hairstyle and a wide headdress. Publication History George M. A. Hanfmann, Greek Art and Life, An Exhibition Catalogue, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1950), no. 156 Exhibition History Greek Art and Life: From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Private Lenders, Fogg Art Museum, 03/07/1950 - 04/15/1950 A World Within Reach: Greek and Roman Art from the Loeb Collection, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/28/2023 - 05/07/2023 Related Works 1919.520 Standing Woman Holding at Swath of Fabric Sculpture Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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
