figure
- Museum number
- 1873,0320.87
- Description
-
Upper part of a terracotta figure of a female worshipper or priestess playing the lyre; mould-made face (probably with some modelled details) with hand-made body and accessories.
She stands in a frontal position, holding the instrument in her left hand at a right angle to the body; the right hand extends across to the strings. Ridged eye-sockets; feathered eyebrows; large nose. The wig-like hair falls in a mass on each shoulder; very stylised curls incised on the top of the head. She elaborate wears ear caps, double-spiral earrings, rings around the edge of the ear and two necklaces: the first consists of two rows of oval-shaped beads with incised decoration meeting in a central disc (traces of red paint); the other is a single series of biconical beads and a central pendant (also painted red originally).
The body is missing below the waist; approximately half the lyre is also broken away.
- Production date
- 600 BC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 31 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Joins with the small fragment 1873.3-20.194.
See Karageorghis 1993, 53-8 for other examples of figurines from the Idalion workshops. Also Karageorghis Coroplastic volumes VA, 67-8 and VB, 241-2 for additional examples of lyre-players made with a variety of techniques. Paleocosta 1998 provides a survey of images of lyres players in the Cypro-Archaic period, while Meerschaert 1991 discusses depictions of musicians in general during this period (see pl. XLIV, c for the present item).
Bibliography:
Meerschaert C 1991, 'Les musiciens dans la coroplastie chypriote de l'Époque Archaïque', in eds. F. Vandenabeele and R. Laffineur, Cypriote terracottas. Proceedings of the First International Conference of Cypriote Studies (Brussels-Liège), 183-93.
Paleocosta E. 1998, 'L'iconographie des joueurs de lyre à Chypre, du VIIIe au Ve s. av. J.-C.', CCEC 28, 45-66.
- Location
- On display (G72/dc6)
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1873,0320.87
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: 1917,0701.25 (registered in error as)
