Bust Of The Goddess Demeter, Greece, Hellenistic Period, 6th – 5th Century Bc.

Bust of the goddess Demeter, her head covered by a long veil falling to her shoulders. The face has a gentle and serene expression, with restrained modeling, enlivened by delicately outlined features. The presence of the veil, rendered in broad folds, lends the figure a hieratic solemnity characteristic of divine female representations of the Archaic period. Orange terracotta, traces of brown pigment, chips, signs of age, see photos. Greece, Hellenistic period, 6th-5th century BC. Dimensions: 7 × 4 cm. With base: 10 × 4 cm. Provenance: former sale, Paris Drouot. Sold with base, invoice from the Ocarina Gallery, and certificate of authenticity from the expert Serge Reynes. Guaranteed origin and period. Demeter, goddess of fertility and agricultural cycles, is traditionally depicted veiled, a sign of maturity and divine dignity. This type of bust, with its contemplative expression, belongs to an iconography linked to domestic cults and rural sanctuaries, where it was invoked to ensure the prosperity of the land and the regularity of the seasons. The simplicity of the modeling and the treatment of the veil reflect a conception still imbued with archaic aesthetics, foreshadowing the transition to classical naturalism.* Shipping costs upon request.