In 1995, an examination in the restoration workshop of the Museum August Kestner revealed that the statuette, including the filling inside, is made of dried clay and therefore cannot be antique. Unfired, this piece could not have survived the 2400 years, especially if it were to be considered, for example, a burial object and thus a ground find. Therefore, the term terracotta statuette is more than invalid, since the term, derived from Italian, means "baked earth".
Apart from this quite clear indication, there are other aspects that speak for a non-antique origin of the lady. The motif of the garment raffle with the left hand, which the Hanoverian piece shows, is found in Rhodian terracottas of the 6th century B.C. However, the facial expression and the hunchback wreath under the headdress of our piece rather fit terracottas of the 6th century B.C. from the Attic area. The face of Rhodian or Ionic statuettes of this period is more characterised by almond-shaped, slightly slanted eyes. Similarly, coronal representations usually have two strands of plait, each falling over both shoulders down to the chest. It is possible, but ultimately only thermoluminescence analysis in the laboratory can prove this, that this is "only" an adulteration in which an antique upper part with a "modern" addition to the lower body in the style of Rhodian models of the 6th century BC was created from the unfired clay, perhaps in order to achieve a higher price on the art market. (AVS)
Former Erhart Kästner Collection, Wolfenbüttel
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