Statue of a Mourning Woman
Culture: South Italian
Date: 3rd century B.C.
Place made:Canosa di Puglia, Apulia, Italy
Medium: Painted terracotta
Dimensions:
h. 35 1/2 in. (90.2 cm); w. 13 in. (33 cm); d. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 95.18.2
Provenance: sold, Sotheby's, New York, June 1, 1995, lot 113 to San Antonio Museum of Art
Published References
Sotheby's, New York, June 1, 1995, lot 113.
F. van der Wielen-van Ommeren, "'Orantes' canosines," Genève et l'Italie, Mélanges de la Société genevoise d'études italiennes (1999), no. 18
V. Jeammet, "Quelques particularités de la production des pleureuses canosines en terre cuite," Revue archéologique (2003) 288, no. 33.
J. Powers and J. Johnston, eds., San Antonio Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection (San Antonio: San Antonio Museum of Art, 2012), 42.
M. L. Ferruzza and C. L. Lyons, Ancient Terracottas from South Italy and Sicily in the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2016), 133 n. 13.
Label Text
Evocative statues of grieving women like this example have been found in the underground chamber tombs, or hypogea, of Canosa, a town in southeastern Italy. They were placed in the tomb in pairs or even-numbered sets. Constructed from coils of clay with separately fashioned arms and hair, the statues were vividly painted : extensive traces of her original coloration remain on this figure’s hair, facial features, and dress. These distinctive statues may have emphasized local Canosan identity in the face of increasing Roman expansion in southern Italy. (J. Powers, 2018)
On view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
