Terracotta Figurines and the Acrolithic Statues of Demeter and Kore from Morgantina

Abstract

Archaic figurines of women holding a dove recovered from in and around the Thesmophorion of S. Francesco Bisconti at Morgantina (Sicily) can be associated with a fragmentary terracotta throne now in Vienna. It is possible that this throne was made for one or both of the famous acrolithic sculptures that represented the goddesses Demeter and Kore, from the same sanctuary. The strong East Greek influence on Sicilian archaic sculpture is noted, as well as the possibility that the acrolithic group and the throne may have been made locally with the participation of itinerant artists. Both the throne and the acrolithic sculptures may represent a built, rather than a glyptic, approach to sculpture making, which would anticipate the achievements of the Classical period in chryselephantine sculpture on a much larger scale.