Terracotta protomas and the coroplast workshops of Gorgippia
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-1-22-41
Abstract
In 2020, during excavations of the ancient polis of Gorgippia (Anapa), a pottery kiln (from the middle of the 3d century BC) was discovered, with the remains of a batch of terracotta baked in it, including two half-figures of Kore-Persephone and a protoma-mask of Demeter. It is noteworthy that such products were already familiar to researchers at Gorgippia, where a statuette of Kore was found in the necropolis (1954), and the protomas of Demeter were found in the alleged “dump” of temple offerings (1965). Analysis of the new finds and materials of the Anapa Museum revealed the peculiarities of the work of coroplasts in Gorgippia, and identified the problems of the circulation of individual elements and the transformation of the image of a female deity. It has been established that the basis for postulating four variants of Gorgippian protomas was the expression on the face of a figurine of the classical period. On the basis of this “primary element”, supplemented by free modeling, three variants of the protoma Demeter were distinguished, a modest provision of a basis for the discussion of differing forms, in addition to a more complex half-figure of Kore. Their production coincided with the destruction of the furnace, but was not limited to that time. In any case, the genealogy of the variant of the protoma of Demeter from the furnace covers three generations of terracotta: both the one preceding and the one following it.
About the Authors
E. A. Savostina
Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov at the Russian Academy of Arts
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Elena A. Savostina, Dr. of Sci (Art Studies)
bld. 30, Tovarishcheskiy Line, Moscow, 109544
T. C. Tikhonova
LLC “Kubanarcheologiya”
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatiana S. Tikhonova
bld. 37/11, Kubanskaya Naberezhnaya St., Krasnodar, 350063
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Review
For citations:
Savostina E.A., Tikhonova T.C. Terracotta protomas and the coroplast workshops of Gorgippia. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2023;(1):22-41. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-1-22-41
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