Deer

This small bronze figurine represents a deer. The figurine is rendered abstractly, as was common in the Geometric period. Its limbs are long and straight, except for the joints, which jut out from the legs. The animal’s waist is narrow; its head takes the shape of a long cylinder with large ears. The deer stands on a base perforated with triangular holes. Decorated base plates, common during the later part of the eighth century BCE, served as stands but could have also been used as some kind of early stamp or seal.

This object would have likely served as a votive offering at a Greek sanctuary. In spite of their relatively simple forms and small scale, considerable technical skill was required for the manufacture of these figurines, which most often occurred at the sanctuaries themselves. Devotees and worshippers could then purchase them on site and place them on view.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Dr. René Golschmann, New York [from his brother's collection]; Walters Art Museum, 1954, by purchase.