Woman with Pitcher and Bowl

Standing with the weight shifted to one leg and the other slightly advanced, this woman holds a pitcher in her proper right hand and a shallow bowl (a phiale mesomphalos, with a central “navel” or boss) in her left. These attributes indicate that she is about to pour a libation, most likely at an altar in a sanctuary or domestic setting. She is dressed in a peplos, a one-piece woolen garment pinned at the shoulders and belted at the waist. Her hair is covered by a bonnet. The figure stands on a base and is tilted toward the back. Of reddish-brown terracotta with remains of a white slip, it is hollow throughout, with a large rectangular vent hole at back. It was likely made in Attica or neighboring Boeotia. In its current state, the statuette is reassembled from several fragments.