A GREEK MARBLE FEMALE DANCER

HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.

细节

A GREEK MARBLE FEMALE DANCER
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
Advancing with her left leg crossing in front of her right, wearing a diaphanous chiton that has slipped off both shoulders and onto her upper arms, the thin fabric clinging to her upper torso, revealing the form of her body beneath, including a slight depression at the navel, her voluminous mantle wrapped diagonally across her torso and over her lowered left arm and shoulder, her right arm lowered, clutching a fold in each hand, the twisting forward motion of her body causing the drapery to billow out to the sides, especially to her left, her downward-angled shod foot visible beneath the hem, her head tilted forward and to her right, her long wavy hair pulled up into a top-knot, the underside roughly finished and tapering into an inverted pyramidal tenon for insertion into a base
14¼ in. (36.1 cm.) high

来源

English Private Collection, mid 1980s.

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拍品专文

According to True (p. 102 in Kozloff and Mitten, The Gods Delight, The Human Figure in Classical Bronze), "Artists of the Hellenistic period were frequently inspired by the challenge of convincingly depicting the natural appearance of all things. This tendency accounts for a growing interest in individual portraiture, the accurate representation of bodies in complex active poses or varied physical states-such as sleep or drunkenness-the definition of material surfaces and textures, and the effects of motion or atmosphere." This small marble figure fully embodies this ethos.

The billowing drapery and the downward angle of the advancing foot recall depictions of Nike alighting, such as the Nike from Samothrace and numerous smaller depictions in other media (see Moustaka, Goulaki-Voutira and Grote, "Nike," in LIMC, no. 382-557). However, the absence of wings on the present example precludes her identification as the goddess of victory. Spiral movement is suggested here because of the downward angle of her head in combination with the forward thrust of her left hip and the crossing over of her advancing left leg, causing her drapery to billow out on either side, but more dramatically to her left. As such, it seems our figure is dancing, as seen also on a Corinthian terracotta figure, no. 970 in Higgins, Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum. For the hairstyle compare the head of a maiden in Baltimore, no. 16 in Reeder, et al., Hellenistic Art in the Walters Art Gallery.