Published: May 8, 2018 By

Catalogue Entry

This vase is one ofÌýa collection of Greek artifactsÌýheld by the Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Art Museum.

Gift to Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Classics DepartmentPhotograph of terracotta harpy figurine, with a bird body and a human woman's neck and head, angled to viewer's right, against a neutral gray background
Transferred to Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Museum of Natural History
Ìý(2006)

Height: 15.2Ìýcm
Width: 17.8 cm
Depth: 10.8 cm
Date: c. 600 B.C.E.
Origin: Greece

Description: Terracotta figurine of a harpy, with a winged bird body and the torso and head of a human woman. Wings and tail outstretched. Spool-like base extends from bottom. White and cream color.Ìý

Additional photos of this object show details of face, wings, and tail.

Discussion

This small terracottaÌýstatuette dates to around 600 B.C.E., that is, the (1). It depicts a that is here depicted as a combination of the winged body of a bird Photograph of terracotta harpy figurine, with a bird body and a human woman's neck and head, frontal, against a neutral gray backgroundwith the torso and head of a human woman. The female face has features characteristic of the Daedalic style (2), which developed on the island of Crete and heavily influenced Archaic Greek sculpture (3). Its style suggests a possible origin in Crete or , the part of mainland Greece south of the isthmus of Corinth.Ìý

The figurine shows the body of a bird. Two roughly formed wings extend from either side, curving toward the back. A short tail extends straight out from the back. A female head sits atop a long neck extending straight up from the front of the body. The face is shallow and, although badly weathered, traces of a can be seen, framed by wig-like hair.Ìý

Terracotta figurines in ancient Greece often functioned as offerings to gods and goddesses at temples and sanctuaries, but they served other functions, including as toys (4). Similar kinds of figures could function as appendages to a variety of vessels: bronzeÌýsiren attachmentsÌý(5), for example, could decorate OrientalizingÌýtripod cauldrons, which appeared in Greece at the turn of the 8th century B.C.E. (6).Ìý

Footnotes

  1. Musée du Louvre,ÌýCatalogue raisonné des figurines et reliefs en terre-cuite grecs, étrusques et romainsÌý(Paris : Éditions des Musées nationaux, 1954): Pl. 17 fig. B133.
  2. Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway,ÌýThe Archaic Style in Greek SculptureÌý(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977): 19-20.
  3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art,ÌýArt of the Aegean IslandsÌý(New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979): 130.
  4. R. A. Higgins,ÌýGreek TerracottasÌý(London: Methuen & Co ,1967): 1.
  5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art,ÌýArt of the Aegean IslandsÌý(New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979): 175.
  6. Athanasia Yalouris,ÌýOlympia the Museum and the SanctuaryÌý(Athens: Ekdotike Athenon, 1993): 57.

Reference

  • Chara Tzavella-Evjen,ÌýGreek and Roman Vases and Statuettes from the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ CollectionÌý(Athens: Archaiologikon Deltion, 1973): 192-197.Ìý