Air-goddess

Summary

At present, the sculpture has only been submitted to VIL imaging. The VIL images show no luminescence indicating that there are no traces of Egyptian blue.

Description of object

A young woman clad in a chiton and a large sweeping cloak floating towards the viewer. The clinging material of the chiton is completely transparent and the garment leaves the right breast uncovered. The left arm was raised holding the cloak blowing in the wind, and the right , also holding the cloak was held down and forward. In this way the cloak has billowed all around the figure which probably represents a wind goddess or aura, as there are no signs of wings for a Nike. Standing on her right leg with the left, bent in front, probably resting on a support in the shape of an animal (?), in the same way as Paionios’ Nike in Olympia sets her foot on a tortoise. The hair was long and fell in tresses over the shoulders. The sculptor has delightfully stressed the sensuous feminine body, more opulent than normally seen in Classical Greek art. The motif of floating is supported by the body’s forward inclination and fits well with a high setting, and in fact the figure served as an acroterium on the roof of a temple in Tegea and Epidauros. The workmanship is excellent and has been compared to the work of Timoheos who worked on the sculptures for the Asklepios temple in Epidauros c. 375, though the air-goddess is probably a generation older c. 400 B.C.

Choice of methods

Technical imaging

• VIL

Bibliography

M. Moltesen (1995), Greece in the Classical Period. Catalogue. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, cat. no. 9, 60-61.