Greek Hellenistic Terracotta Female Statuette w/ TL

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Fine Antiquities/Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Jul 19, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-07-19 10:00:00 2018-07-19 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities/Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-ethnographic-art-3329
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe, plus fine art. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Ancient Greece, Hellenistic period, ca. 3rd century BCE. A tall mold-formed terracotta figure of a young woman, nude aside from a laurel-lined diadem worn above her brow. The woman stands atop an integral rectangular plinth with legs held closely together, with ample hips, a defined posterior, a slender waist, and perky breasts defining her feminine presentation. Her sensitive visage is composed of a miniscule nose, thin lips, petite ears with hanging earrings, and almond-shaped eyes, all set beneath a parted coiffure with a long plait running down her back. A graceful example of high-quality craftsmanship from Hellenistic Greece! Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 1.625" W x 6.75" H (4.1 cm x 17.1 cm); 7.375" H (18.7 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  During the Hellenistic Period, Greeks had access knowledge about the past through institutions like the Library of Alexandria, creating a sense of history and connection to the Greeks who had come before them. Prominent Hellenistic art collectors commissioned pieces based on public statues from the earlier Classical Period, and smaller, more available art forms like this sculpture echoed the naturalistic, detailed classical style. Terracotta figures like this one have been found in private dwellings where they may have been part of a shrine or had a religious purpose. Others decorate tombs and sanctuaries, with some graves having up to a dozen of these statuettes. Perhaps they represented mourners, dressed in finery to attend a funeral, or possibly deities intended to protect the deceased through their journey into the afterlife.
  
  This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.
  
  This figure hammered for GBP 1,375 ($1,811) in Bonhams, London, Knightsbridge Antiquities Auction (May 8, 2013, lot 55): https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20667/lot/55/?category=results&length=90&page=1
  
  Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection; ex-Bonhams, London, Knightsbridge Antiquities Auction, May 8, 2013, lot 55; ex-private UK collection, acquired on the London art market in the 1980s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #132839

  Condition

  Restoration to feet and integral plinth. Possible repair to head at neckline with resurfacing and overpainting along break line. Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age, fading to finer features on face and body, losses to both arms, with small chips to plinth, feet, face, and head, and fading to surface pigmentation. Scattered areas of mineral deposits, and light earthen deposits throughout. Drilled through bottom of plinth for suspension on old display stand.
• Shipping Info

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