Inventory number
Ακρ. 269
Artist
Attic workshop
Category
Sculpture
Period
Archaic Period
Date
Around 540 BC
Dimensions
Height: 1.13 m
Material
Marble from Penteli
Location
Archaic Acropolis Gallery
The Kore was conventionally named the ‘Lyon Kore’ as the statue’s upper part has been housed in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon in France since 1810. The Acropolis Museum exhibition includes the original lower part of the body, as well as parts of the left arm, adjusted to the plaster cast of the Lyon statue.
The Kore stands out due to her imposing figure and it is the oldest on the Acropolis depicted with Ionian attire: long-sleeved chiton and short himation which passes obliquely under her right arm. The himation creates an arch low on her back, a feature that is not seen on the other Korai and it is decorated with a meander border, visible mostly on her back side.
On her head she wears a polos with incised and painted palmettes and lotus flowers and on her ears, earrings. Traces of colour have been preserved on the Kore’s garments, hair, polos and face. In her right hand she holds a dove, while with her left, in which the pointer and the index fingers are extended, she pulls her chiton aside to facilitate her step.
It has been suggested that the "Lyon Kore” was not a dedication, but an architectural feature like a Karyatid. In this case she would have supported, alongside a second similar statue, the roof of a small building.
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