The gentle gravity of this child is beautifully expressed through her sweet farewell to her pet doves. Her peplos is unbelted and falls open at the side, while the folds of drapery clearly reveal her stance. Many of the most skillful stone carvers came from the Cycladic Islands, where marble was plentiful. The sculptor of this stele could have been among the artists who congregated in Athens during the third quarter of the fifth century B.C. to decorate the Parthenon.
#1039. Marble grave stele of a little girl, Part 1
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Artwork Details
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Title:Marble grave stele of a little girl
Period:Classical
Date:ca. 450–440 BCE
Culture:Greek
Medium:Marble, Parian
Dimensions:Height: 31 3/4 in. (80.6 cm) Width (top): 14 9/16 in. (37 cm) Width (base): 15 1/2 × 4 in., 131 lb. (39.4 × 10.2 cm, 59.4 kg)
Classification:Stone Sculpture
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1927
Object Number:27.45
From Paros (Museum Worsleyanum 1794, pl. 35).
1785, found on the island of Paros; by 1785-1787, collection of Sir Richard Worsley, Appuldurcombe House, Isle of Wight, England; from the early 19th century and until 1927, collection of the Earls of Yarborough at Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire, England; acquired in 1927, purchased from the Fourth Earl of Yarborough.
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