Geometric II

Terracotta female figure

Whether or not they depict a divinity, figurines of the "goddess with uplifted arms" were introduced into Cyprus probably from Crete during the eleventh century B.C. The deity associated with such representations is one of fertility, later known as Astarte-Aphrodite. The image is elaborately dressed and embellished with a pendant around her neck; on her head she wore a diadem, now broken. The piece is wheel-made and hollow. Overall: 8 1/2 x 4 3/4 x 2 3/4in. (21.6 x 12.1 x 7cm)

Date

950 - 750 BC

Accession No.

74.51.1609

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

References

Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1894. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 2. pl. XII.91, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1895. The Terracottas and Pottery of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in Halls 4 and 15. no. 227, p. 21, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 2027, p. 338, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Jacqueline. 1977. La grande déesse de Chypre et son culte à travers l'iconographie de l'époque néolithique au VIème s.a.C.. p. 142, pl. 23b, Lyon: Maison de l'Orient.Karageorghis, Vassos. 1977. The goddess with uplifted arms in Cyprus. pp. 17-18, n. 50, pl. IV.1-2, Lund: LiberLäromedel/Gleerup.Sophocleous, Sophocles. 1985. ""Atlas des représentations chypro-archaiques des divinités." Master's Diss.." Master's Diss. no. 3, p. 89. Paul Aströms Förlag.Karageorghis, Vassos. 1993. The Coroplastic Art of Ancient Cyprus, Vol. 2. no. LGA(iv)10, pp. 83-84, pl. XXXVII.2, Nicosia: Foundation Anastasios G. Leventis.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 212, pp. 141-42, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Christou, Sandra. 2012. Sexually Ambiguous Imagery in Cyprus from the Neolithic to the Cypro-Archaic Period, BAR International, 2329. p. 52, fig. 6.5, Oxford: Archaeopress.Karageorghis, Vassos, Gloria Merker, and Joan R. Mertens. 2016. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Terracottas. no. 57, pp. 37-38, Online Publication, [CD-Rom 2004], New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.