STATUE OF ARTEMIS: 1ST CENTURY B.C

STATUE OF ARTEMIS. NEO-ATTIC CRAFTSMANSHIP, END OF THE 1ST CENTURY B.C. Medium grain white marble, sculpted and polished, height 130 cm. The goddess is depicted facing forward, her left foot slightly advanced, and the left one stepping back, and she stands on a quadrangular base. She is wearing a long chiton which reaches down to her feet with scalloped, almost metallic-looking folds, and clings to the body accentuating its curves. On top of the chiton we see the drapery of a mantle, which flows down partly covering the dress with rich zigzagging folds, and is held fast by small fibulae on the left shoulder. The hair flows down to the breast in long curly braids, but is gathered at the back of her head. Across her chest, the goddess is wearing the balteus which served to carry her quiver. The right arm featured a held out forearm, which is now lost, whilst the left arm ran down her side to hold up her dress. The goddess is wearing thin sandals on her accurately modelled feet, whilst the back of the statue was worked on rather summarily, as it was probably not visible in its original location, but the glutes are evidenced nonetheless. The goddess is represented iconically and conceived to be seen mostly from the front, and the attention of the observer is immediately captured by the rich drapery of the mantle which takes on an importance nearly superior to that of the figure of the goddess.