CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

TWO CYPRIOT TERRACOTTA FIGURES
Circa 5th Century B.C.
Including a bust of a priestess holding a square cloth to her chest, wearing a long-sleeved tunic and jewelry consisting of earrings, bracelets, a wide collar, a beaded necklace and a necklace with a disk-shaped pendant, her long hair falling to her shoulders; and a lyre player standing on a low plinth, wearing a tunic with a long overfold, a fringed striated sash beneath, her bent right arm to her chest, perhaps holding a plectrum, her left arm supporting a triangular lyre, her long striated hair secured with a fillet
10¼ in. (26 cm) high; and 11½ in. (29.2 cm) high (2)

Provenance

Charles Ede, Ltd., London for the lyre player

Literature

Charles Ede, Collecting Antiquities, no. 198, for the lyre player

Lot Essay

Terracotta and limestone figures of musicians, both male and female, are commonly found in Cypriot tombs and sanctuaries. Flute, lyre, and tambourine players were often placed in sanctuaries to provide music for the divinity. For a limestone example of a male lyre player from the 6th century B.C., see fig. 198 in Karageorghis, Ancient Art from Cyprus, The Cesnola Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

More from ANTIQUITIES

View All