SCULPTURE

Female portrait statue Γ87

  Museum/Current place of storage: Sikyon, Archaeological Museum.
  Inv. no: 2512
  Dimensions:
  Material: H. 0,1635m. (with the plinth).
  Findspot:

Near the headless female portrait-statue, Sikyon Archaeological Museum inv. no. 2511 ({https://achaeanwomen.eie.gr/γλυπτό/?statue_id=698}; see Kazakidi 2012, 198) in the Gymnasium of Sikyon.

  Original Display Location:

In the Gymnasium of Sikyon.

  Date: Principate of Claudius.
  Statuary Type (body) :

Variant of the “Formia” type.

  Mode of Self-Representation (head): -
  Civic Presence (Social Role Represented):

Member of an elite family of Sikyon.

  Inscribed Base: No
  Author: Panagiotis Konstantinidis
  Added: 2024-09-13
  Edited:

Description - Comments:

The statue is well preserved. The inset head with the neck and the inset hands are missing. Smaller breaks and chipping are evident sporadically on the surface of the marble, especially on the right heal, along the edges of the folds of the garments, as well as the plinth. It depicts a standing frontal female figure bearing her weight on the left leg, while the right is slightly bent. She wears a long chiton, a wide himation that covers most of the body, and closed leather shoes (calcei muliebres). The so-called “Formia” statuary type is for the most part faithfully replicated. The himation forms the characteristic triangular shape below the chest, in its course from the right shoulder to the slightly bent left forearm. Nevertheless, the figure does not hold with her fingers the hem of the himation that descends from the left side of the neck, but the right hand is held upwards. As N. Kazakidi (2012, 205) observes, the head was left uncovered, as indicated by the hem of the himation and the lower part of the bun that is preserved at the nape. It belongs to an honorary family statue group dated to the principate of Claudius, erected in a central public building of Sikyon, probably the gymnasium (or Agora?). The group included a total of three male  and two female portraits (for the other female portrait-statue of the group in the same statuary type see {Γ86}). Probably product of an Attic workshop.

Bibliography:

A. Orlandos, “Ανασκαφή Σικυώνος”, Prakt 1934, 119, fig. 5; H.J. Kruse, Römische weibliche Gewandstatuen des 2. Jhs. n. Chr., Göttingen 1975, 455 note 286 no. 8 (with the former inv. no. 332); A. Filges, Standbilder jugendlicher Göttinnen, Köln-Weimar-Wien 1997, 162 note 640 no. 15; N. Kazakidi, “Ένα οικογενειακό σύνταγμα ανδριάντων της εποχής του Κλαυδίου και το γυμνάσιο στη Σικυώνα”, in Th. Stephanidou-Tiveriou, P. Karanastasi, D. Damaskos eds., Κλασική παράδοση και νεωτερικά στοιχεία στην πλαστική της ρωμαϊκής Ελλάδας. Πρακτικά διεθνούς συνεδρίου, Θεσσαλονίκη, 7-9 Μαΐου 2009, Thessaloniki 2012, 198, 205-206, figs. 12, 14-15; S. Tuccinardi, “Sculture romane da Formia. Una proposta di lettura in contest”, in C. Capaldi, C. Gasparri eds., Complessi monumentali e arredo scultoreo nella Regio I Latium et Campania: nuove scoperte e proposte di lettura in contest. Atti del convegno internazionale, Napoli, 5 e 6 dicembre 2013, Napoli 2017, 61 note 88; P. Konstantinidis, Γυναικείοι δυναστικοί εικονιστικοί ανδριάντες αυτοκρατορικής περιόδου από την Ελλάδα (τέλη 1ου αι. π.Χ. – 5ος αι. μ.Χ.), Athens 2024, 217 note 135.