Terracotta statuette of a monkey or bear

Terracotta statuette of a monkey or bear

Description:

The effect of Cypriot terracottas often derives from the spontaneity and vivacity of the subjects represented. Even if the species is not surely identifiable, this small animal is lithe and alert.


H. 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm)

Period:

Archaic II

Date:

600 - 480 BC

Collection:

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance:

From Cyprus, said to be from a tomb at Ormidhia

References:

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. XXVII.219, 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. 291, p. 26, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 2066, p. 342, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos. 1994. "Monkeys and Bears in Cypriote Art." Opuscula Atheniensia, 20: no. f, p. 64, n. 17, fig. 7.Karageorghis, Vassos. 1996. "The Cypro-archaic period monsters, animals and miscellanea." The Coroplastic Art of Ancient Cyprus, Vol. 6. no. E.b.8, p. 17, pl. IX.1, Nicosia: Foundation Anastasios G. Leventis.Karageorghis, Vassos, Gloria Merker, and Joan R. Mertens. 2016. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Terracottas. no. 252, pp. 146-47, 260, Online Publication, [CD-Rom 2004], New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Accession Number:

74.51.1639