Woman with snake. Sculptural group of Cerrillo Blanco (Porcuna, Jaén, Spain)

A sculpture with a round bulk, belongs to the group of ancestors and is known as “Woman with Snake.” This figure, unlike the Lady with a child or Male with a manipule, has a smaller and wider proportion, so it has been interpreted that it could represent an older woman. It has a slightly advanced right leg. As for his clothing, he is covered with at least two heal robes and a wide mantle. The first tunic has a V-neckline that appears on a wider one, also in V. This neckline has some embellishments figured by three parallel incisions that end in peak between the breasts which are little indicated, but visible and well modeled. The clothes are very tight, without a belt, which allows to recognize very well their anatomy. The legs are pointed under the clothing, having the right slightly ahead. Like the Lady with a child gently tilts her body forward, thus providing a little movement despite being one of the most hieratic sculptures of the whole of Cerrillo Blanco. Chronology: 440-400 B.C. Dimensions Height = 87 cm Width = 41 cm Thickness = 32 cm Weight = 56 Kg It comes from the sculptural group of Cerrillo Blanco found in 1975 in the municipality of Porcuna (Jaén). This set constitutes nowadays the most important Iberian sculptural group of the known so far. It is composed of more than forty pieces that represent heroic struggles of men with each other or men with animals, hunting scenes, images of fantastic animals or important characters. The group of ancestors consists of four other sculptures: This sculpture stands out for its great size, since it stands out above the other human representations. He stands and shoes holding the front legs of two male caprids. The size of the caprids is also oversize and the accentuated sex, visible in the rear view is a sign of their fruitful power. The horns are supported on the shoulders and adapted to the human body. The face of the cemetery is shown frontal with the wrinkles on the eyes that highlight his gaze. The frontality of the group insists on its character as an offering. - Woman with Child: A stylized female sculpture that tilts her body and extends her lonely arms forward. He falls a veil on his shoulders that covers him to his feet. The folds of the mantle fall into two bands on both sides and move strongly with the impulse of the body. It has the left leg forward, on the knee and the belly there are remains of what has been supposed a small child hand that occupies the attention of the lady. - Male with manipule: is the highest and most proportionate figure in the group. It highlights the richness of his dress, which not only covers but, above all, accentuates the harmony of the body, discovers it. The overabundance of tissue envelops it: the surplus folds fall into an orderly zigzag on his arms and the dress follows the movement of the body, obeys it and marks it. The man moves forward, the right leg forward guides him, and the body in motion is transparent behind. Some torques or necklace, hanging over the center, mark his neck and a bracelet adorns his naked left arm. Together with this group we must include a statue that represents a seated character. According to Olmos, this set of ancestors was located at the top of the tower. But it takes a step further by identifying them as the representation of the mythical Oikos, in which not only are the ancestors, but also the animals that like the steer that show the richness of the house of the lineage, in the same way that the young ancestor irrigates with his semen the land to fertilize it. Currently the sculptures from Cerrillo Blanco can be visited in the Provincial Museum of Jaén and the archeological site in Porcuna (Jaén) is also visible, since it is one of the stops of the cultural route “Journey to the time of the Iberos” with which it is intended to value the iberas first level traces existing in the province of Jaén. Bibliography: Chapa, T. (2015): “Los escultores del Cerrillo Blanco de Porcuna,” in A. Ruiz y M. Molinos (coord.): Jaén, ibera land. 40 years of research and transfer. University of Jaén. Jaén. Olmos, R. (2002): “The sculptural groups of Cerrillo Blanco de Porcuna (Jaén). A convergent iconographic reading essay.” Spanish Archive of Archaeology, 75 107-122. Ruiz, A. and Molinos, M. (2015): “The sculptural group of Cerrillo Blanco, Porcuna,” in A. Ruiz and M. Molinos (Eds.): Jaén, Iberian land 40 Years of research and transfer. University of Jaén. 67-84. Torrecillas, J. F. (1985): The late period cemetery of Cerrillo Blanco. Institute of Giennenses Studies. Jaén.