Inventory number
Ακρ. 696
Artist
Attic workshop
Category
Sculpture
Period
Archaic Period
Date
Around 500 BC
Dimensions
Height: 1.855 m
Length: 0.47 m
Width: 0.42 m
Material
Marble from Penteli
Location
Archaic Acropolis Gallery
Fragmented statue of a Kore of large stature that has been reassembled from many pieces. The head and calves were found near the Parthenon's west entrance in 1888, whereas the fragment of the thigh was located in a pile of debris on the Acropolis in 1998. For the rest of the fragments there are no relevant information available.
The Kore stands on a plinth, slightly projecting her left foot. At the time the fragments of her feet were discovered, they retained the red and black paint used to colour the sandals’ straps. The Kore wears a long chiton and, over this, a second garment, perhaps an epiblema which creates folds on her left shoulder and flows to the corresponding knee. With her right hand, she would have pulled her chiton aside to facilitate her step. Her left arm folds over her chest and was previously associated with Ακρ. 701.
The Kore has arched eyebrows, almond shaped eyes and her lips form the typical, constricted smile of the period, known as the "archaic smile". Her wavy hair is parted in the middle, frames her face and cascades down her back forming horizontal grooves. The red colour we see today probably constitutes the undercoat over which the final hue was applied. On her head the Kore wears a high polos, once decorated with painted lotus flowers. This headgear has led some scholars to the assumption that she is no ordinary Kore, but instead a goddess, perhaps Artemis or Aphrodite.
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