Veiled Tympanon Figure, Archaic II Cypriot statue
Veiled Tympanon Figure, Archaic II Cypriot, c. 600–560 BC. British Museum, 1888,0601.29.CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Archaic II

Veiled Tympanon Figure

Dark grey limestone figure of a veiled woman holding a tympanon, painted. The standing figure is holding a tympanon (tambourine or small drum) in her left hand before the left breast; the right hand is raised across the body to play on it. Repaired across the waist; the feet and right elbow are missing. The woman is wearing a long garment which is slightly bouffant on the lower part; a carved upward turned fold below the knee is indicating the kolpos. The shoulders a hanging down, the left is slightly higher than the right; the breasts are pointy. She is wearing a bead or pearl necklace with a pendant. There are traces of red paint on the garment and a black vertical band on the skirt. Her veil is rendered closely to the head, its edge is shown as a horizontal line on the forehead, behind the ears it is falling down on the back as a thick mass. Her face is slim and triangular in shape, the mouth is small and slightly oblique; the eyes are large. The head is characterised by a great depth. Poor work; the eyes are roughly incised, the ears shapeless. The back is sawn flat. Dimensions: Height: 14.10 centimetres Object Type: figure Series: Nick type 2 (2.1b) Techniques: painted; sawn; carved

Classification

Object type
Stone sculpture
Decoration
Painted
Material
StoneLimestone
Date
600 - 560 BC
Place of production
probablyCyprus
Findspot
Palaepaphos

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Collection

Provenance

  • Sanctuary of Aphrodite (Naukratis)

Identifiers

Accession no.
1888,0601.29, British Museum · Museum record

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