Statuette feet. Smyrna, 4th-3rd century BC.
Terracotta.
Provenance: Smyrna, 1895-1905. Collection Paul Gaudin (Paris 1858-1921 Versailles), archaeologist, engineer and great patron of the Louvre Museum; Acquired between 1894 and 1905 and by family descent. Public auction, France, 2022.
Measurements: 6 cm. high with pedestal.
Statuette base or plinth with Greek text, probably the signature of the ceramist. This piece is part of an archaeological collection of 670 fragments, considered the second most important after the Louvre (1094 fragments) and ahead of those of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (135) and the British Museum (108). According to Simone Besques (1972, p.155) "There are hardly any public or private collections that do not contain Smyrna figurines, most of which are unfortunately fragmentary. Nevertheless, they testify to the fact that from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD, the most important Hellenistic and Greco-Roman workshops were located there, both in terms of the quality and originality of their production, and the fact that these figures remained intact until the Roman period".
Smyrna was one of the original terracotta centres of Asia Minor. The city was refounded by Lysimachus around 288 BC, a short distance from its former location. Continued habitation until more recent times made systematic excavations impossible. Most of the Smyrna figurines on display in major museums in Europe and the United States are mostly fragments of heads. Smyrna figurines are easily recognised by the colour of their clay, which varies from brown to red. The clay is fine and homogeneous, and contains traces of gold and silver. Some samples still retain their colours. They are carefully modelled.
In terms of subject matter, many popular types from the great terracotta art of the Classical or Hellenistic period prevail, such as those of Herakles, deities and athletes. Another favourite subject was clothed female figures of the "Tanagrian" type.
There are also so-called "grotesque figures" with exaggerated anatomical deformities. They probably represented real people suffering from deforming diseases.
The terracotta style of Smyrna shows great similarities with that of Myrina. It is likely that the same terracotta artists worked in both cities. It is more likely that there was a relevant relationship in Pergamon and Cyme. On the other hand, certain thematic types of the Smyrna workshop - the black figures and the grotesque ones - allude to the terracotta art of Alexandria, which ensures a close commercial and artistic relationship with that city. Figurines from Smyrna were highly prized in the ancient world. They were exported to Myrina, Priene, Pergamon, Troy, Tarsus, Delos, Athens, Cyprus and Black Sea cities.