Seated Woman
sculptorImitator of
Unknown
Date19th century
Place MadeMyrina, Thessaly, Greece, Europe
MediumPainted terracotta
Dimensions22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS16s8
eMuseum ID725776
EmbARK ObjectID11801
TMS Source ID967
Last Updated10/31/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryTerracotta figurines like this one were abundant in Ancient Greece during the last quarter of the 4th century B.C. They were called “Tanagras” because a large majority of the figurines have been found at Tanagra, a site in Boeotia. The majority of the figurines depict elegant women or girls, like this sculpture of a seated woman. Birds, particularly doves, were common on the graves and sculptures of women and girls in ancient Greece, and symbolize joy, beauty, and sexuality. Tanagra figurines were made with a two-part mold, making the sculptures easy to mass produce and replicate. This particular figurine is a modern copy of a Tanagra sculpture, purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner’s nephew, William Amory Gardner, while he was traveling in Greece. William Amory gifted the figurine to Isabella at the opening of her museum in 1903.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 111. (as Tanagra style, modern imitation)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 168, no. 213. (modern copy of the Tanagra figures produced in Myrina in Asia Minor, late 3rd century-1st century BCE)
Dakota Jackson, "In Greece with William Amory Gardner," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1 September 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/greece-with-william-amory-gardner
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 168, no. 213. (modern copy of the Tanagra figures produced in Myrina in Asia Minor, late 3rd century-1st century BCE)
Dakota Jackson, "In Greece with William Amory Gardner," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1 September 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/greece-with-william-amory-gardner
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from an unknown dealer in Athens in 1886, through her nephew the classicist William Amory Gardner (1863-1937), who purchased a second similar statuette (museum no. S16s7) at this time.
