| Descriptive Attribute | Value(s) |
|---|---|
| Type | Divine Images: Artemis |
| Title | Artemis Statuette |
| Excavation Unit | 62 |
| Stratigraphic Unit | 6203 |
| Context | Found in a disturbed context, a mixed deposit consisting of alluvial layers and modern looter pits (EU 62/SU 6203). |
| Current Location | Larnaka District Archaeological Museum, Cyprus |
| Material | Limestone |
| Height (cm) | 33.6 |
| Width (cm) | 15.95 |
| Date | 310 BCE – 330 CE |
| Thickness (cm) | 6.73 |
| Weight (kg) | 2.35 |
| Description | Limestone statuette depicting the goddess Artemis holding a quiver with a fawn at her side, standing on a small oval base (with parallel toolmarks visible on the bottom). The statuette is carved in the round on the front and flat at the back. Broken at the neck, the proper right shoulder preserves the top of the quiver and part of the hair. Artemis stands in a contrapposto pose with proper left leg relaxed. She wears an ankle-length belted chiton with scoop neck, attached at the shoulder and belted directly under the breasts. A large overfold extends down to the upper thighs. The drapery folds are naturalistically rendered with some weathered areas. The breasts, visible beneath the dress, are modeled asymmetrically. She wears plain, pointed shoes with no modeled details. The proper left arm, rendered with an unnaturally thin upper arm, is bent and rests on an L-shaped support. Extending over the proper right shoulder is a quiver, which is summarily rendered on the back as a rounded semicylinder that tapers before fading into the smooth back surface. Three strands of hair (now worn) extend over her left shoulder. The right arm is naturalistic and hangs along Artemis’s side; in the right hand she holds a flat, cylindrical object to feed a fawn who is stretching up along the goddess’s right leg. The fawn stands next to Artemis with body facing forward and head upturned to eat the offered object. The fawn’s head is small with a tapered muzzle and long, pointed ears flatten onto the back of its head. The fawn’s neck is elongated, and the body is rounded and supported by four long, tapered legs. The limestone between the legs and body is not removed, nor are the hooves detailed. There is black discoloration on the front, especially on the front of the L-shaped support where it is broken, which indicates this offering was burned at some point after the support broke. No evidence of applied pigment. |
| Commentary | AAP-AM-4929 is identified as Artemis by the goddess’s attributes (quiver and deer) and is similar to at least six other Artemis statuettes excavated in the Malloura sanctuary by the Athienou Archaeological Project, two of which are so close in style that they were likely made by the same sculptor or workshop. In addition, three Artemis heads have been discovered at the sanctuary (Counts and Toumazou 2003; see also Sørensen 2009: 195–96 on the identification of the Malloura female head with sakkos as Artemis). Additionally, several statues in the Musée du Louvre from Edmond Duthoit’s 19th-century excavations at Malloura have been identified as Artemis and dated to the CC and Hellenistic periods (Hermary 1989a: 412–14, cat. nos. 836, 838, 841). Beyond Malloura, there are two similar Artemis statuettes from Pyla, dated stylistically to the Hellenistic–Roman periods, that also depict the goddess wearing a long chiton and feeding a fawn (one depicts her leaning on a support and holding fruit in her left hand, see Hermary and Mertens 2015: 266–68, cat. nos. 361, 362; see also two Roman examples from Pyla with Artemis feeding a fawn at her side, Hermary 1989a: 411–14, cat. nos. 835, 839, 840). Based on attributes and style, AAP-AM-4929 is most similar to the statuettes of Artemis wearing a long chiton with a fawn by her side from Pyla and now in the MMA, suggesting that the Malloura Artemis also dates to the Hellenistic to early Roman period. It is significant that at both Malloura and Pyla Apollo was worshipped together with his sister; likewise, in both sanctuaries, images of Cypriot Pan complete the Hellenistic divine iconography (Counts and Toumazou 2003: 242–44). At Malloura the prevalence of male votaries, warriors, and male divine iconography (Cypriot Herakles, Apollo, Zeus-Ammon, and Cypriot Pan types) indicates that the sanctuary was primarily dedicated to a male deity, but the presence of at least nine fragments of Artemis statuettes (and several limestone statuettes of dancing women, see AAP-AM-5126) suggests that this goddess was worshipped at least as early as the Hellenistic phase and likely in the CC (Counts and Toumazou 2003; for the cult of Artemis in Cyprus, see Karageorghis 1998: 176–85; Sophocleous 1985: 138–41; Sørensen 2009). Like many of the male divinities at Malloura, Artemis is depicted as a mistress of the animals—in this case in the guise of a hunter and often with a fawn stationed dutifully at her side. |
| Bibliography | Unpublished |
| Sketchfab Media URL |
Alternate link to 3D Model: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/aap-am-4929-ff6a51f4ab314982b3134d0865d9e973
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| Descriptive Attribute | Value(s) |
|---|---|
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Consists of
Vocabulary: CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) |
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Has type
Vocabulary: CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) |
sculpture (visual works)
Vocabulary: Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus Open Context References: sculpture (visual works) |
Suggested Citation
Derek Counts, Erin Averett, Kevin Garstki. (2020) "AAP-AM-4929 from Europe/Cyprus/Athienou-Malloura". In Visualizing Votive Practice: Exploring Limestone and Terracotta Sculpture from Athienou-Malloura through 3D Models. Derek B. Counts, Erin Walcek Averett, Kevin Garstki, Michael Toumazou (Ed). Released: 2020-07-28. Open Context. <https://opencontext.org/subjects/05b4c0aa-383f-4eca-b316-24223b419176> ARK (Archive): https://n2t.net/ark:/28722/k2474qx50
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