Greek terracotta figurine in the context of "Ancient Greek pottery"

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⭐ Core Definition: Greek terracotta figurine

Terracotta figurines are a wide range of small figurines made throughout the time span of Ancient Greece, and one of the main types of Ancient Greek pottery. Early figures are typically religious, modelled by hand, and often found in large numbers at religious sites, left as votive offerings. Psi and phi type figurines are two very early and simple types, dating as far back as 1400 BCE.

By the Hellenistic period, as well as a continuing production of religious figures, there was a near-industrial mass-production of sophisticated decorative figures, many of fashionably dressed women, which were often painted. These are the so-called Tanagra figurines, though Tanagra was only one centre of production. Figurines provide an invaluable testimony to the everyday life and religion of the ancient Greeks.

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Greek terracotta figurine in the context of Psi and phi type figurine

Psi, phi and tau were types of terracotta figurines made in Mycenaean Greece during the Late Helladic period. They were typically about 10 to 20 centimetres (3.9 to 7.9 in) high and are found in tombs, shrines and settlement areas. They fall into three distinct typologies, each named for the letter of the Greek alphabet that it resembles. The earliest such figures date to the Late Helladic II period (c. 1450 – c. 1400 BCE), and they continued to be made until the end of the Late Helladic III (c. 1050 BCE).

The figurines depict female forms, often wearing a polos headdress that may indicate a goddess or a worshipper. Some, known as the kourotrophos (lit. 'child-rearer') type, include a model of an infant. The function and original meaning of these figures is unclear, and may not have been the same to all Mycenaeans or at all stages in the object's use-life: some are found in clearly sacred or ritual contexts, such as sanctuaries or as offerings in tombs, while others are found in domestic contexts, household rubbish, or used for utilitarian functions such as stopping a vessel or as part of the temper used in mud-brick building.

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← Psi and phi type figurine
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Hermes → Louvre → Ancient Greece → Ancient Greek pottery → Votive offering → Psi and phi type figurine → Hellenistic period → Tanagra figurine → Tanagra →