A GREEK TERRACOTTA MOTHER AND CHILD

CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK TERRACOTTA MOTHER AND CHILD
CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.
Mold-made, standing on an integral plinth, the mother draped, a polos over her long wavy hair, holding her child seated against her left shoulder, a rattle in her right hand, the child wearing a conical hat, preserving traces of pigment over white slip, including red for the hair, the mother's feet and portions of the child's garment
9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm.) high

Provenance

Damiens Collection, Paris, 1960s-1970s.
Oger-Dumont, Paris, 6 November 2001, lot 142.

Lot Essay

Kourotrophoi votives, mother's carrying sons, were dedicated in temples to several mother goddesses, including Demeter as the goddess of agriculture, and Athena as the patron of young men. They may have depicted the goddesses or the human offerers. Such votives have also been found in tombs where they may represent the protection of the deity in the afterlife. For an analysis of the type and examples throughout the Greek world see p. 224ff. in Neils and Oakley, Coming of Age in Ancient Greece, Images of Childhood from the Classical Past.

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