Statue of a Mourning Woman

300–275 B.C.

Medium

Terracotta with white ground and polychromy (organic pink, iron-based red pigment)

Dimensions

93.4 × 31.2 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-247462

The standing female figure stands with her weight on her left leg and raises her hands, clearly defined with fingernails, in a gesture of lamentation. The tilted head turns toward her left and her lean, oval face features a high forehead, furrowed eyebrows, eyes with etched pupils and irises, an accentuated nose, and a sharp chin. The mouth, with its lower lip projecting more than the upper, is stretched in an expression of sadness. The figure wears a chiton with two vertical pink stripes close to her legs and a himation with a fringed border worn as a shawl draped over the bust. This type of costume is also found on figures painted on Apulian vases. On the lower right of the himation, a mark, comparable to the letter lambda, is engraved. The position and weight of the figure are similar to those of three other members of this group (85.AD.76.1-2, 4).