• Terracotta kouros statuette



Terracotta kouros statuette
Terracotta kouros statuette
Terracotta kouros statuette

Terracotta kouros statuette

Π2035
Clay
Upper half preserved
Height: 28 cm.
Praisos
Sanctuary
Archaic period:
575 BC:
Gallery:
XV
Case:
155
Exhibition thematic unit:
Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th-4th c. BC). Cities and Sanctuaries
Sanctuaries
Description
Upper half of a terracotta male statuette found in the area of the Altar Hill of the ancient city of Praisos. It may have been the cult statue or simply a votive offering to the temple. The face is depicted frontally, with large eyes, strongly marked eyebrows, high cheekbones, a pointed nose and intensely smiling lips, while the ears are S-shaped. The hair is arranged in two locks on each side, with six horizontal rows at the back. The head is crowned with a wide band decorated with diagonal lines. The smile, found on the famous funerary kouroi of Attica and the islands, is a characteristic of the Archaic art of the 6th century BC. No stone kouros statues have been found in Crete, with the exception of a fragment on display in the Heraklion Museum, but it is probable, judging from this example, that there were statues made of other materials such as clay.
Bibliography:
E.S. Forster, Praesos. The terra-cottas, Annual of the British School at Athens VIII (1901-1902), 272 -275, pl. XIII 1. R.W. Hutchinson, Edith Eccles and Sylvia Benton, Unpublished objects from Palaikastro and Praisos, Annual of the British School at Athens 1939-40, pp. 41-42, pl. 18 -19 .
Author:
M. K.


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