Statuette of a standing goddess

ca. 525–500 BC
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 152
Colorful details painted on a white slip accentuate the elaborate makeup, accessories, and drapery adorning this female figure. Yellow ocher applied to the headdress, earrings, and garment evokes gold, and red ocher painted on her neck probably depicts a necklace of pomegranates, a symbol of death and rebirth. The headdress with rays suggests the woman is a goddess, perhaps Persephone, queen of the Underworld. Discovered primarily in graves, statuettes of this type may have been intended specifically for funerary use.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Statuette of a standing goddess
  • Date: ca. 525–500 BC
  • Culture: Greek, Boeotian
  • Medium: terracotta
  • Dimensions: 9 × 3 3/8 × 1 1/4 in. (22.9 × 8.6 × 3.2 cm)
  • Classification: Terracottas
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Patricia and Marietta Fried Gift, 2021
  • Object Number: 2021.437
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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