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Group statuette with Athena, Demeter, and Persephone
Greek
Classical Period
about 450 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Terracotta
Dimensions
Height x length: 11.9 x 10.5 cm (4 11/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by contribution
Accession Number01.7767
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionThis terracotta group depicts three female goddesses standing atop the same flat base. Although the women wear the same long dresses and are molded in a similar minimalistic manner, the objects they carry and their headgear indicate their identities. The woman on the far left can be identified as the goddess Athena by her helmet, which rests atop her head. In her right hand she carries a bird (perhaps an owl, sacred to Athena). At center, another woman wears a high crown (or polos) and carries a tray laden with gifts. Two pomegranates are clearly identifiable on the tray, both because of their red color and their shape. The fruit and crown suggest this woman is the goddess Demeter. At right, another woman wears a crown identical to that of Demeter and carries a small animal, likely a piglet. This is the goddess Persephone, daughter of Demeter, to whom piglets were sacrificed in ritual. The group preserves significant amounts of paint: each of the women has red hair, yellow is visible on part of Athena’s dress, and white slip is preserved all over.
ProvenanceBy 1901: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: Bought in Paris: said from Thebes.); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, December 1901