La coroplastie d'Idalion à l'époque archaïque. Ateliers et diffusion

Abstract

Due to extensive digging in the Dali area at the end of the 19th century A.D., many terracotta statues of the 'Idalion School' were acquired by European museums and prompted a strong interest for the coroplastic art of this ancient region. Those exquisite moulded masterpieces are not the sole expression of the coroplasts' capability, which is exemplified by the use of various techniques and the production of a large array of types. Their works demonstrate close stylistic links with those of the neighbouring kingdoms, as Amathous or Salamis, which reflects the geographical location of Idalion inland, on the roads leading from the copper deposits of the Troodos to the coastal sites. Besides, the originality of the coroplastic art of ancient Idalion enables one to study the diffusion of the terracottas in the island and thus to determine the cultural and political influence of the kingdom. The material retrieved from rural sanctuaries gives interesting clues concerning the probable extension of the kingdom's chora, which seems to have included a large part of the central area of Cyprus, from Meniko to the West to Athienou to the East, from the neighbourhood of Nicosia to the North to Pyrga to the South. It strongly suggests that Tamassos and Golgoi were not indépendant cities in the Archaic period, but secondary urban centers of the Idalion kingdom.