'Tanagra Figure', late 4C B.C.

 

Graceful, petite and delicately moulded, this 4th Century B.C. sculpture, sitting at 14cm in height, is now part of the British Museum's Collection. It is known as a Tanagra figurine, named after the Boeotian town in Greece where many of these types of sculptures were excavated, normally associated with grave markers. This figure may be typical in many ways, yet through the use of draperies, contrasting with the softness of the facial features, alongside the unusual pose, the small object becomes a key example of the unique skill of Hellenistic Greek sculptors, whose names may be lost to history, but whose works live on. 

The Tanagra figure was acquired by Charles Merlin, arguably the most important collector of antiquities for the British Museum in the mid nineteenth century. Across a thirty year period, Merlin acquired more than 450 objects for the museum. Most notably, he was involved in the recasting of the Parthenon Marbles - the casts which Lord Elgin has repeatedly used were so well worn, Merlin took it upon himself to develop more with an Italian sculptor. Likely made in Athens, the Hellenistic figure above is typical in many ways, produced in terracotta, wearing a chiton and himation, her hair tied back to expose a delicate face. What differentiates this Tanagra figure, however, is the use of colour, including pale orange clay, white coatings and pink on both the figure's clothing and face whilst red was used for the hair. This was of particular interest to both nineteenth century collectors and artists, who not only saw colour as adding value to the work (leading to an influx of forgeries on the market), but associated it with ideas of Aestheticism prominent at the time and of female beauty. Notably, in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, the protagonist describes his love, Sibyl, in the guise of 'the delicate grace of the Tanagra figurine' he sees in Basil Hallward's studio. 

With one hand to her heart and the other placed behind her back, the pose of the young girl is immediately striking, both emotive yet also secretive. It further enables the sculptor to experiment with the movement of draperies and the carefully constructed layers of fabric, from the linearity of the figure's underskirt to the horizontal movement across her waist, as if she almost tugs it behind her back with her left hand. Despite the penchant for the 'wet drapery' look at the time, which is seen on the Parthenon Marbles for instance, the clothes of this Tanagra figure more subtly suggest her body beneath, and coupled with the positioning of her right foot stepping outwards, a viewer senses her movement and the slight curve of her body as her left hip lifts. This is balanced with the lowering of her face perhaps in a gesture of humility. Through an experimentation with pose and form, the maker has created a timeless image of a young girl, perhaps a little unsure of herself, yet still remaining graceful and poised, as she takes a step forward into a viewer's world.