Jointed Doll Holding a Tambourine
4th Century BCE
4 1/2 x 2 5/8 x 1 11/16 in. (11.4 x 6.6 x 4.3 cm)
Greek artist
Greece
Object Type:
Recreational Artifact
Medium and Support:
Terracotta, traces of polychromy
Credit Line:
The C. Herbert Ocumpaugh Collection
Accession Number:
1928.99
Location: Currently on view
Collection:
The C. Herbert Ocumpaugh Collection
On the night before a Greek girl married, she dedicated her childhood toys and dolls to a goddess, usually Artemis, the chaste goddess of the moon and the hunt. Jointed dolls were common and were made of materials such as wood, terracotta, bone, ivory, marble and alabaster. Their bodies were covered with white or flesh-colored slip (liquid clay) and the hair was painted red or yellow.
[Gallery label text, 2004]