Marble statue of a woman

Greek, about 470-460 BC
Found at Xanthos, Lykia (modern Günük, south-western Turkey)

Found reused as a building block in a wall on the Acropolis

Excavations on the Acropolis at Xanthos have revealed the foundations of several buildings that have been identified as shrines of heroes. Remains of sculptured friezes found by Charles Fellows, now mostly in The British Museum, may have decorated these structures. The terrace on which they were constructed seems also have held statues of women. Three of these have been found, of which this is the best preserved. It is not clear who is represented, as no identifying features or attributes survive. All three women wear clothes typical of the period 480-460 BC. This statue has a heavy peplos (dress) with an over-fold framed by a series of almost flat overlying folds. The sculptor has also added an interesting touch by showing the woman pulling the side of her dress away from her right hip, an action that causes the material to pleat over her right leg in a way reminiscent of Archaic Greek korai.

The term 'Severe Style' is applied to sculptures of this period carved in this characteristically austere and simple way. The most famous group of Severe Style sculptures are those from the pediments of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

R. Tölle-Kastenbein, Frühklassische Peplosfiguren O (Mainz am Rhein, 1980)