The small modeled terracotta pig or boar in full flight, likely from a hunting party;
the figure reported to be part of a larger composition;
mounted on a custom base; bearing collection numbers

Provenance : Private Collection, Purchased Paris, c1940-60

Greek Hellenistic Terracotta Animal Figurines

While early terracotta figurines actually date to the Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC),
most found in Greece date to the Hellenistic Period (333-189 BC).
The use of Greek animal terracotta figurines - particularly pigs (and tortoises) –
was widespread throughout this period. For pigs, a major use was in burials and sanctuaries,
as pigs (and tortoise) were commonly sacrificed to deities.
Pigs were always sacrificed during the Eleusinian Mysteries and at the autumnal rite of Demeter and Kore.
Representations of pigs are more likely to be found in sanctuaries of Demeter than other deities.
And most take the form of the small terracotta figurine.
These figurines were also used as toys and gifts for children, as well as funerary figures for the same.
The centers for making many of these figures were Rhodes, Attica and Boeotia -
the first two larger centers for the production of pigs (and tortoises).
The figures were moldmade, or hand modeled, then finished with a white slip and black and red decoration

Condition : Excellent for age; no restorations or repairs; one ear with a chip to the end

2-7/8" Long

465.00

#7120