Grotesque character. Hellenistic period, Greece, III-II century B.C.

Figure of grotesque character. Hellenistic period, Greece, III-II centuries BC.
Terracotta.
Provenance: Georges Savès collection.
Height (without base): 5 cm high.

Small terracotta figure representing a grotesque or dwarf character, a frequent theme in the figurative repertoire of the Hellenistic period. Sitting on his legs, with exaggerated features -prominent belly, short limbs, beard and accentuated features-, the character presents a frontal and compact expression, with a strong expressive charge.
These figures, often of a humorous or satirical nature, became popular in Hellenistic art, where the real, the burlesque and the theatrical gained an unprecedented prominence in Greek art. Its function may have been linked to entertainment, votive use or even to an apotropaic context (protector against evil).

This piece comes from the collection of Georges Savès (1908-1985), a French numismatist and collector with a deep vocation for archaeological study. Heir to a family tradition of collecting, he devoted himself fully from the 1950s to historical and numismatic research, especially on Toulouse and Gallic coins. Throughout his life, he assembled an eclectic collection of archaeological, ethnographic and artistic pieces, enriched in 1966 with the acquisition of part of the Roger Bédiat collection. Author of specialized studies, his legacy remains a reference in the academic and patrimonial fields.