From the Mediterranean to the Bosporos: Terracotta figurines with articulated limbs

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منو

" From the Mediterranean to the Bosporos: Terracotta figurines with articulated limbs "
Maya B. Muratov G. Kopcke

Document Type	:	Latin Dissertation
Language of Document	:	English
Record Number	:	53214
Doc. No	:	TL23168
Call number	:	‭3170854‬
Main Entry	:	Maya B. Muratov
Title & Author	:	From the Mediterranean to the Bosporos: Terracotta figurines with articulated limbs\ Maya B. Muratov
College	:	New York University
Date	:	2005
Degree	:	Ph.D.
student score	:	2005
Page No	:	365
Abstract	:	Terracotta figurines with articulated or movable body parts represent a class of objects common to most parts of the Greek and Roman world during all periods. Such figurines existed in Greece from at least the 10 th century BC, became popular in Cyprus from the 8th century BC onwards, and continued to be manufactured through Roman times over a vast territory from Spain to Mesopotamia. All of these figurines have suspension holes on top of their heads. The dangling arms and legs moved when figurines were shaken or hung, giving them vitality and immediacy. Most scholarly literature describes the terracotta figurines with articulated limbs as “dolls” and often dismisses them as children's toys. This study attempts to demonstrate that these objects served a more serious purpose than merely to amuse and that their interpretation as playthings presents significant problems. This dissertation consists of two parts. The first provides a critical overview of groups of figurines with articulated limbs that appear in Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman art. What is offered here is a re-evaluation of the existing scholarship and a focus on available evidence that has been neglected. Preference is given to the pieces with a recorded archaeological context. Also, possible reasons for articulation, particular to each group, are suggested. Thus, the first part puts our knowledge of the articulated figurines in perspective and provides a framework for the material in Part II. The second part deals with a unique group of figurines excavated in the Greek colonies on the Northern Black Sea coast that were part of the Bosporan Kingdom. These locally made figurines first appeared in the late Hellenistic period and their production continued well into the 3rd century AD. They represent entirely new, previously unknown types that clearly constitute a local phenomenon. This study attempts to explain the figurines' possible meaning, use, and function. Their archaeological contexts are examined and an effort is made to establish their place against the backdrop of the complex multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society of the Bosporan Kingdom, a state with a mixed population of Greeks and barbarians.
Subject	:	Communication and the arts; Social sciences; Articulated limbs; Bosporos; Figurines; Greece; Roman Empire; Roman Republic; Terracotta; Turkey; Art history; Archaeology; 0324:Archaeology; 0377:Art history
Added Entry	:	G. Kopcke
Added Entry	:	New York University