1974.88.FA, Figurine: standing goddess, Greek, Boeotian, 6th century BCE

This figurine is a slightly later version of another in the Dallas Museum of Art's collection (1974.87.FA), datable to the mid-sixth century BCE. This type was excavated at Tanagra and recorded in the cemetery at neighboring Rhitsona (ancient Mycalessus) in Boeotia. This particular type differs from the former example primarily in its smaller size, shorter neck, beaked face with dotted circles for the eyes, and painted (instead of modeled) hair. A clearly painted image of a pomegranate hangs from a double band on its neck, suggesting the figure is of a goddess. 

Small, painted ceramic figures like these were offerings to the fertility goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Demeter, goddess of the grain crops, was the Greek version of the Earth Mother. According to myth, her daughter Persephone was stolen by Hades, lord of the underworld. When Demeter mourned her daughter, the land withered and died. Persephone was released to the upper world, but since she had eaten several pomegranate seeds during her captivity, she had to return to Hades for the winter months. This kind of life/death/rebirth fertility myth has parallels in the Near East and Egypt. 

These attractive mold-made figurines come from Boeotia, the country north of Attica, which produced a large volume of ceramic offering figures in the Archaic period. The Boeotian plain today, as in antiquity, is a productive area for wheat, so images of grain goddesses find a fitting place on Boeotian soil. These little moldmade figures are modest in scope, as they were not intended to be expensive, but they demonstrate the skills of Greek potters, who could produce charming works for large-scale production.

19th or 20th century: excavated at Tanagra, Greece [1]

Before 1972: Elie Borowski, Basel, Switzerland [2]

1972: Dallas Museum of Fine Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, purchased from above [3], [4]

[1] Ann R. Bromberg and Karl Kilinski II, Gods, Men, and Heroes: Ancient Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996), 49.

[2] See object card in Collections Records Object File 1974.88

[3] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983

[4] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation's collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.

Apply to objects where number equals 1974.88.FA