Terracotta
H: 7.3 cm
Allegedly from Crete
Cretan
7th-6th century B.C.
Hand-built of wet clay with the help of a spatula and a pointed rounded instrument.
Condition: the face, fingers (missing on left hand) and the toes are a beige clay, all the rest is painted dark brown - a reddish brown in places due to misfiring.
The figure is an enigma.
He may embody the man-monkey ambiguity with which the Greeks were so taken during the later 8th and the 7th century B.C. See cat. no. 74.
A hole on his underside indicates that he was affixed to some sort of a vessel or seat, possibly part of a group.
His ritualistic function is undetermined, possibly a votive offering, associated maybe with some fertility cult or feast.
The writer sees him as humorous and comical, and
exuding strength, possibly a combination of his spirit, attitude and modelling.
Exhibited and Published:
Art Antique, cat. no. 166, ill.
Hommes et Dieux, cat. no. 61, p. 116 ill.
