Acquisition number: 1991.05
Other images
Intact but for some chips from the base and for the upper part of the left arm which has been rejoined and restored. Pale orange-brown clay with a smooth buff surface. Rather dull red-brown paint.
The figurine is hand-made and solid. The lower body is cylindrical. Above the waist it is flattened and the clay extended to form the raised arms. The breasts are formed of firmly applied separate pieces of clay. The face is pinched and the polos on the head flattened on top. The underside of the base is hollowed.
The lower body has four vertical lines of paint. The upper body and arms are hatched both front and back and have a band along their edge. The front edge of the nose and mouth had a line (now worn) and the eyes in each case are formed of a curve and dot. The polos has a solid band of paint around the edge and a cross on top.
Title: Mycenaean Psi-Figurine - 1991.05
Acquisition number: 1991.05
Culture or period: Mycenaean Late Helladic
Date: Mycenaean Late Helladic III B: 13th century BC.
Material: Clay
Object type: Sculpture and figurines
Dimensions: 110mm (h)
Origin region or location: Greece
Display case or on loan: 1
Keywords: Mycenaean, Late Helladic, Figurine
Sotheby (London), Sale Cat., 23 May 1991, no. 26 (ill.).
1991.05
Mycenaean Psi-Figurine
Purchased. Ht 11cm.
Intact but for some chips from the base and for the upper part of the left arm which has been rejoined and restored. Pale orange-brown clay with a smooth buff surface. Rather dull red-brown paint.
The figurine is hand-made and solid. The lower body is cylindrical. Above the waist it is flattened and the clay extended to form the raised arms. The breasts are formed of firmly applied separate pieces of clay. The face is pinched and the polos on the head flattened on top. The underside of the base is hollowed.
The lower body has four vertical lines of paint. The upper body and arms are hatched both front and back and have a band along their edge. The front edge of the nose and mouth had a line (now worn) and the eyes in each case are formed of a curve and dot. The polos has a solid band of paint around the edge and a cross on top.
Compare 1965.05 (Phi-Figurine) in this catalogue. Mycenaean psi-figurines also have a wide distribution. Elizabeth French gives a good discussion in “The Development of Mycenaean Terracotta Figurines”, Annual of the British School at Athens 66, 1971, 101-187, at 128-142. Probably Late Helladic III B; 13th century BC.
Sotheby (London), Sale Cat., 23 May 1991, no. 26 (ill.).