TANAGRA, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY B.C.

Innumerable terracotta figurines have been excavated from the ancient city of Tanagra in central Greece. Female figures such as this are the most common and iconic subject of Tanagra coroplasts, with the women usually depicted in quiet contemplation with classical gazes. Unlike Tanagra figures of the earlier Classical period, these females do not represent goddesses; rather, they are ordinary, mortal, women. They seem to have been used as votive figures, placed in graves, or simply kept as decorative possessions. The Dame en bleu at the Musée du Louvre (inv. no. MNB 907), arguably the most famous Tanagra statuette, is a close parallel for the present lot in pose, size and attitude. Louis-Gabriel Bellon was a notable collector of Greek terracottas, being among the first to develop a passion for Tanagra figures; his vast collection is thought to have been the largest in France.