Female figurine of a double-reed pipe player
Datelate 5th-early 4th c. BCE
Periodmid-Classical
Object GeographyCyprus
CultureCypriot
Geography NotesSaid to have been "found at" Kouklia, "the ancient" Palaepaphos, Cyprus
MediumTerracotta (moldmade and handmade)
ClassificationCeramics
ProvenanceFound by Luigi Palma di Cesnola (American Consul to Cyprus, 1865–1876); purchased by subscription by the Metropolitan Museum of Art 1874-1876; (sale, the Anderson Galleries, New York), April 20, 1928; purchased by John W. Higgins; acquired by John Ringling; bequest to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 1936-present.
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN28.2073
This musician holds and plays a double-reed pipe, an aulos, which is strapped to the face. An aulos player made a continuous sound similar to that made with a bagpipe, but without the bag. The thick arms holding the instrument contrast with the figure’s delicately molded face.
On View
Not on viewHeight: 3 7/8 in. (9.85 cm)
Width (arm to arm): 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Thickness (back to hands): 2 5/16 in. (5.9 cm)
Face
Height: 11/16 in. (1.73 cm)
Width: 1/2 in. (1.25 cm)
Head
Width: 3/4 in. (1.92 cm)
Width (with strap): 15/16 in. (2.36 cm)
Arms
Width: 1/2 in. (1.42 to 1.12 cm) / 1/2 in. (1.67 to 0.92 cm)
Pipes
Width: 3/8 in. (0.97 cm)
Thickness: 3/16 in. (0.49 cm)
Body
Width: 15/16 in. (2.61 to 2.17 cm)
Thickness: 13/16 in. (2.18 to 1.92 cm)
Base
Width: 1 3/8 in. (3.49 cm)
Depth: 1 1/16 in. (2.63 cm)
Medium Details
Color (Munsell soil color chart)
Fabric: 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown); core 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown)
Inclusions
many sand, few lime, few small voids
6th century BCE
5th-early 4th century BCE
2nd or 1st century BCE
3rd century BCE–1st century CE
1300–1200 BCE
late 7th century BCE