ROOM 2
Figurines and dolls
Plagones were beautiful colorful dolls, with elegant hairstyles and with "magical" properties that appealed to young and old. A decisive step in differentiating religious figurines to dolls was the appearance of a jointed doll (nevrospaston) with movable arms and legs, while the use of mold by modelers would boost mass production so as every girl could own her favorite heroine!
Plagones were one of the favorite girls’ toys in ancient Greece. It was a female figure doll usually made of clay and with complicated hairstyles. In some cases the clothing of the doll was painted on it, while in other cases, girls were sewing clothes for their dolls out of rags. Plagones had an educational character too, by introducing girls to the role and obligations of a woman in society. On the eve of every girl’s wedding day, plagones were dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Sometimes, the nature of a figurine is difficult to determine.
Terracotta figure of woman or goddess seated on a throne
350 BC
Boeotia
Royal Museums of Arts and History, Brussels.
Photogrammetry by Greektoys with the support of the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels."Doll" with Truncated Limbs
c. 450 BC
White-silpped terracotta with traces of paint
15.1 x 6 x 5.4 cm
Harvard Art Museum
The arms of this mold-made statuette are cut off above the elbow, and the legs at mid-thigh. These are not accidental losses, but features integral to the object’s design. Young women may have dedicated such statuettes as votive objects on reaching puberty. The absence of limbs focuses attention on the well-developed trunk of the body itself, where the changing shape of an adolescent woman is most obviously manifested. Placed in a tomb or depicted on a grave stele like that of Melisto to the right, the “doll” emphasized a girl’s premature death and perhaps expressed the hope of her family that she would achieve full womanhood in the afterlife.
Photogrammetry by GreektoysDoll wearing flower wreath
4th century BC
Taranto, Italy
Brussels,Royal Museum of Art and History
Inv. A.306.
Photogrammetry by Greektoys with the support of the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels.Terracotta jointed “doll”
450-350 BC
Nola, Italy
Brussels,Royal Museum of Art and History
Inv. R.817
Photogrammetry by Greektoys with the support of the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels.Doll holding cymbals
Hellenistic period
4th century BC- 3rd century BC
Photogrammetry by Greektoys with the support of the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels.Rattle
700 BC. Louvre Museum.
3D modeling by Greektoys
