Statuette of a Veiled Woman
Statuette of a Veiled Woman
Place of OriginGreece
Date350-340 BCE
Dimensions11 1/4 × 5 × 3 1/4 in. (28.6 × 12.7 × 8.3 cm)
MediumMolded and hand-finished earthenware.
ClassificationSculpture
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number
1932.3
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic
DescriptionVeiled lady standing on rectangular base.
Label TextSimultaneously concealed and revealed by her tightly draped cloak, this statuette shows a woman of high rank on a journey of some sort. Greek aristocratic women led extremely sheltered lives and were required to cover themselves whenever leaving the house (see nearby case “Women in Ancient Athens”). In 1871 French excavators discovered more than 8,000 tombs outside the city of Tanagra in Boeotia, about 35 miles north of Athens. Half of the tombs included terracotta statuettes representing not only gods but also everyday depictions of women, like this example. These figurines were instantly dubbed “Tanagras” and became a collecting craze throughout Europe.
mid-5th century BCE
about 300 BCE
Late 6th millennium BCE (or Late 5th to 4th millennium BCE?)
Late 2nd or early 3rd century CE
Iron Age I-II, about 1000-900 BCE
250-150 BCE
425-350 BCE
Late 2nd to early 3rd century CE
3rd Century BCE
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