Incense Burner in the Form of a Female Head

Greek (Sculptor)

3rd century BCE (Hellenistic)

terracotta with paint
(Ancient Greece )

Incense burners in this form were used to burn frankincense. The absence of burn marks on this example indicates that it was probably a burial gift. The maiden is probably the goddess Kore (Persephone) who, with her mother Demeter, was deeply revered in South Italy.

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.**

Sale, Antiquities, Sotheby's London, 13 December 1982, p. 45, lot 173. Dr. Frederick G. Stern, Potomac, MD, by 1984, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, December, 1985, by gift.

Exhibitions

1988-1989

From Alexander to Cleopatra: Greek Art of the Hellenistic Age. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

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Geographies

(Place of Origin) Italy, Canosa (Place of Discovery)

Measurements

6 7/8 x 4 3/4 x 4 5/16 in. (17.5 x 12.1 x 11 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. Frederick G. Stern, 1985

Location in Museum

Centre Street: Second Floor: Greek Art

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

48.2525

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