Grave Stele of Myttion
about 400 B.C.
- Medium
- Marble with polychromy
- Dimensions
- 71.1 × 24.1 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-245716
The young woman shown on this stele or grave monument represents the deceased. Faint traces of a Greek inscription painted above the woman’s head preserve her name, Myttion. Her long hair is brushed back from her face and fashioned into a braid wrapped around her head. She wears an unusual garment called a kandys, a long-sleeved knee-length coat inspired by Persian clothing. This style was adopted by Athenian women at the end of the 5th century B.C. and worn at religious ceremonies. The bird that Myttion holds may have been a pet or was perhaps an offering to the gods. Such a depiction of the deceased either alone or with family members was typical for grave markers of the Classical period (about 480–323 B.C.). The traces of pigment that have survived on this stele, especially the red color on Myttion's shoes, serve as a reminder that most Greek sculpture was originally painted.
Provenance
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California
Registry history
- about 400 B.C. — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum — sculpture
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