Female figure; Hellenistic Greece, 3rd century BC.

Female figure; Hellenistic Greece, 3rd century BC.
Terracotta.
Attached thermoluminescence.
It presents small stable cracks and restoration in fracture lines on the left thigh.
Measurements: 28 x 10 x 5 cm; 3 x 7 cm (base).
The terracotta figure is shown full body, head slightly tilted, one hand low, the other raised and barefoot. Her feminine features are clearly shown thanks to the fall of the cloth that covers her only partially, probably associating her with the image of the goddess of beauty Aphrodite, also associated with lust and reproduction. In particular, by the posture with the hands trying to cover herself with some modesty, it is possible to find relations with a specific type of images of this divinity known as "Venus Púdicas" for showing her naked, covering her intimate parts to a greater or lesser degree. The posture and "exhibition" of the present one allow to place it in a somewhat advanced point of the evolution from the "wet cloths" to the complete nudity of the feminine image.
Hellenistic sculpture represents one of the most important artistic expressions of Hellenistic culture and the final stage in the evolution of the Ancient Greek sculpture tradition. Terracotta figurines were part of everyday life since the prehistoric periods, but in the Hellenistic period, a different tradition of figurines created in series from molds began, which were worked in naturalistic style and with a variety of subjects that served various purposes, decoration, ex votos, funeral offerings, a low-cost practice that spread rapidly throughout the Hellenistic world.