Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

PEPLOS KORE A stylistic “sister” to the Anavysos kouros is

the statue of a woman traditionally known as the Peplos Kore(FIG.

5-11) because until recently scholars thought this kore wore a pep-

los. A peplosis a simple, long, woolen belted garment. Careful exam-

ination of the statue has revealed, however, that she wears four dif-

ferent garments, one of which only goddesses wore. The attribute

the goddess once held in her left hand would immediately have iden-

tified her. Whoever she is, the contrast with the Lady of Auxerre

(FIG. 5-7) is striking. Although in both cases the drapery conceals the

entire body save for head, arms, and feet, the sixth-centuryBCE

sculptor rendered the soft female form much more naturally. This

softer treatment of the flesh also sharply differentiates later korai

from contemporary kouroi, which have hard, muscular bodies.

Traces of paint are preserved on the Peplos Kore.Like the

Anavysos kouros, this Athenian statue was buried for more than

two millennia. The earthen “grave” protected the painted surface

from the destructive effects of exposure to the atmosphere and to bad

weather. The Peplos Kore—along with the calf bearer (FIG. 5-9) and

many other statues—had been knocked over by the Persians during

their sack of the Acropolis in 480BCE(see page 118). Shortly there-

after, the Athenians buried all the damaged Archaic sculptures. Before

that time, they stood as votive offerings in Athena’s sanctuary.

KORE IN IONIAN DRESS By the late sixth centuryBCE, the

light linen Ionian chiton,worn in conjunction with a heavier himation

(mantle), was the garment of choice for fashionable women. Archaic

5-12Kore, from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 520–510 bce.

Marble, 1 9 high. Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Archaic sculptors delighted in rendering the intricate asymmetrical

patterns created by the cascading folds of garments like the Ionian

chiton and himation worn by this smiling Acropolis kore.

108 Chapter 5 ANCIENT GREECE

5-11Peplos Kore,from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 530 bce.

Marble, 4high. Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Unlike men, women are always clothed in Archaic statuary. This kore

is a votive statue of a goddess wearing four garments.She once held

her identifying attribute in her missing left hand.

1 ft.

1 in.