Archaic I

Terracotta statuette of a male figure holding the head and neck of a mask or image

This clay statuette surely has to do with a performance of some kind. The standing figure is probably wearing a mask and holding either another mask or the head of an image in human form. Among Archaic statuettes from Cyprus, representations of many different types of performers are common. H. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm)

Classification

Object type: Terracotta figurine
Material: Clay
Period: Iron AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-Archaic I
Date: 750 - 600 BC
Place of production: Cyprus
Findspot: Ormidhia

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Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

From Cyprus, said to be from a tomb at Ormidhia

References

Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. no. 876, p. 61, pl. XV.6, St. Petersburg: L’Académie Impérial des Sciences.Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1894. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 2. pl. VIII.60, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1895. The Terracottas and Pottery of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in Halls 4 and 15. no. 244, p. 22, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 2040, p. 340, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos. 1995. The Coroplastic Art of Ancient Cyprus, Vol. 4. no. I(x)a.1, pp. 54-55, fig. 29, Nicosia: Foundation Anastasios G. Leventis.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 226, p. 147, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos. 2006. Aspects of Everyday Life in Cyprus: Iconographic Representations. no. 139, p. 160, Nicosia: Foundation Anastasios G. Leventis.Karageorghis, Vassos, Gloria Merker, and Joan R. Mertens. 2016. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Terracottas. no. 134, pp. 80-81, 257, Online Publication, [CD-Rom 2004], New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Identifiers

Accession no.: 74.51.1608, Metropolitan Museum of Art
In catalogues: Doell 1873, no. 876
Myres 1914, no. 2040
Karageorghis 2000, no. 226
Karageorghis 2006, no. 139
Karageorghis 2016, no. 134

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Terracotta statuette of a male figure holding the head and neck of a mask or image

Classification

Identifiers

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