
Graeco-Phoenician scarabeus gem: Bes and boar
Classical Antiquities
Date | first half of the 6th century B.C. |
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Object type | sculpture |
Medium, technique | painted, hand-modelled, terracotta |
Dimensions | height: 10 cm |
Inventory number | T.14 |
Collection | Classical Antiquities |
On view | Museum of Fine Arts, Basement Floor, Classical Antiquity, Eros – Dionysos – Thanatos |
On a single base can be seen the hand-shaped figures of a chorus leader and three dancers facing him, clearly performing a ritual dance. It is a rare composition, and its figures, with their strongly abstract forms, display the characteristic features of a group of Archaic statuettes from Boeotia, adjacent to Attica. The archaic renderings of the human figure are not late remnants of a peculiar style of Greek art which had become obsolete, but rather the forms of expression of a newly-developed local school which received its first impetus from neighbouring Athens. Of the original (probably red) painting, only traces of a white slip have survived.
János György Szilágyi
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.