[page-n-135]
ISSN 1989-508
T. B. L. WEBSTER
(Unive rsity College, London)
Two Attic
comic actors from Ampurias
The director of the Museo de Prehistorio de la Excmo. Diputa
ci6n Provincial de Valencia hos invited me to contribute a note on
two terrOC'Jtto statuettes from the Collection Cozurra of Ampu rias, today in this Museum of Valencia. I originally heard of these
s tatuettes from Froulein Lore Asche.
They belong to the large class of statuettes representing actors of comedy of which there is another example in t he seated
slave in Madrid (Loumonier pI. XXV, 2).
The two statuettes in Valencia are of approximately the some
size (9'2 and 8'8 cm.) but difter greatly in execution. The woman
holding her veil in front of her face is undoubtedly an Attic origi nal and a very fine example of the type (Lam . I, I). The woman
with her hand on her hip is on ancient copy taken from a worn
mould which was itself token from on Attic terracotta figure of
the some date os the first figure (Lam. I, 2). Mr. R. Nichols has
explained the technique of taking moulds from figures in on ad mirable article in the Ann ual of the Bri t ish School et Athens 47
(1952) 219f. In what follows I shall speak only of the original A t tic figures, not of the derived copy.
Several examples of both the figures survive. Twelve other
examples (1) of the women holding the veil in fron t of her face
are known to me, and their provenances are Athens, Vari, Tanagra, Olynthos, South Russia, Troad, Thasas.
(1) Cf. WINTER: "Terrokottotypen", 421/8.
HIGGINS: "Terracottos in the British Museum", r, num. 7-\'1.
BIEBER: "History of the Greek Theotre", fig. 123.
WEBSTER: "Greek Theotre Production", 180, num. 11 b.
Add A.J.A. 1903, 333, num. 61; Berlin, photo German. Arch . Institute in
Athens, 624; Thosos Museum, num. 954. I owe the lost two references to Mrs.
D. B. Thompson.
135
[page-n-136]
2
T. 6. l. WEBSTER
know three other examples (2) :Jf the womo.' with her hand
on her hip, and th~ir provenances are Athens and Olynthos. Olynthos 9iY'25 a bottom date be::ouse the tOW:1 was deslroyed in 348
B. C, and style pr·z ciudes 0 top da~e much earl ier t hon 375 B. C
The Me t ropolitan Museum (3) p:::ssesses two sets of seven ter racetto statuettes of comic actors found in 0 tomb in Athens. One
se t hos an example of the woman holding the vei l in front of her
face and the o:her set has an example of the woman with her hand
on her hip. The figures in the two sets ore very alike in style and
probably 0 11 com e from the same Athenian workshop. Examples
cf two of the first set and three of the second set have been found
in Olynthos, so that they con 011 be doted in the second quort'~r
of the fourth century B. C Th~ mo'l in whase 10mb these sets were
put must hav.z been either an actor or 0 poet -ar a lover of comedy, and it is reosO:lobi;'! 1:> s'Jppose that the se ts represents I·he
casts of two camedi::s in which h? was specially interested. The
two women hove the some mask, which is distinguished by the
c urious peak of hair in the centre of :he fQrhead, probably indicating that the hair was held by a metal clasp here. In the New
Comedy of M~nander and his successcrs 0 very similar mask was
wor.'" by the younger versi::m cf the Pseudokore; the curious ti tle
"False-maiden" seems to mean that she is a maiden becouse paren ts will be discovered in th:: ccurse of the ploy and a false-mai
den becaus? she is living with th: man whom she will ultimately
marry. In Middle Comedy this was probably the mask worn by the
heroine of the ploy. In the first New York se t the woman holding
her Veil is probably Auge wr.o has be2.1 roped by Heroktes, and the
ploy was a parcdy of Euripides' Augc possibly by t he comic poet
Euboulos. In the second Nevl York set the girl with her hand on
her hip is prcbably in love with 0 young man, wnose frie . or slave
.,d
(both ore characters) extracts money from his fath::r's bailiff to
buy her from her moth -er . Both sets give us interesting evidence
for Attic com2cy in the period between Aristopho:1es ond Menander, which \',1 -2 only know from fragmentary quotations,
(2) Cf. BIEBER: "HIsTory of the Greek Theatre" , fig . 129 {New York.
from Athensl.
LUSCHEY: "Gonymed", 74, fig. 2-3.
ROBINSON: "Olynthos", XIV, num. 380 D.
WEBSTER: "Greek Theatre Production", 181, nUIn. 120.
(~)
BIEBER: "History of the Greek Theatre", fig. 122_128, 129-135 .
WEBSTER: "Greek Theatre Production". 7! -3.
136
[page-n-137]
W I~ II S'f .. It.:
Two
I..AM. I.
" lI i~ ~omi~ a~ to rs.
2
Two attic co mic actors (AmpuriasJ 0 / 1)
(Poto GTOllo)
[page-n-138]
ISSN 1989-508
T. B. L. WEBSTER
(Unive rsity College, London)
Two Attic
comic actors from Ampurias
The director of the Museo de Prehistorio de la Excmo. Diputa
ci6n Provincial de Valencia hos invited me to contribute a note on
two terrOC'Jtto statuettes from the Collection Cozurra of Ampu rias, today in this Museum of Valencia. I originally heard of these
s tatuettes from Froulein Lore Asche.
They belong to the large class of statuettes representing actors of comedy of which there is another example in t he seated
slave in Madrid (Loumonier pI. XXV, 2).
The two statuettes in Valencia are of approximately the some
size (9'2 and 8'8 cm.) but difter greatly in execution. The woman
holding her veil in front of her face is undoubtedly an Attic origi nal and a very fine example of the type (Lam . I, I). The woman
with her hand on her hip is on ancient copy taken from a worn
mould which was itself token from on Attic terracotta figure of
the some date os the first figure (Lam. I, 2). Mr. R. Nichols has
explained the technique of taking moulds from figures in on ad mirable article in the Ann ual of the Bri t ish School et Athens 47
(1952) 219f. In what follows I shall speak only of the original A t tic figures, not of the derived copy.
Several examples of both the figures survive. Twelve other
examples (1) of the women holding the veil in fron t of her face
are known to me, and their provenances are Athens, Vari, Tanagra, Olynthos, South Russia, Troad, Thasas.
(1) Cf. WINTER: "Terrokottotypen", 421/8.
HIGGINS: "Terracottos in the British Museum", r, num. 7-\'1.
BIEBER: "History of the Greek Theotre", fig. 123.
WEBSTER: "Greek Theotre Production", 180, num. 11 b.
Add A.J.A. 1903, 333, num. 61; Berlin, photo German. Arch . Institute in
Athens, 624; Thosos Museum, num. 954. I owe the lost two references to Mrs.
D. B. Thompson.
135
[page-n-136]
2
T. 6. l. WEBSTER
know three other examples (2) :Jf the womo.' with her hand
on her hip, and th~ir provenances are Athens and Olynthos. Olynthos 9iY'25 a bottom date be::ouse the tOW:1 was deslroyed in 348
B. C, and style pr·z ciudes 0 top da~e much earl ier t hon 375 B. C
The Me t ropolitan Museum (3) p:::ssesses two sets of seven ter racetto statuettes of comic actors found in 0 tomb in Athens. One
se t hos an example of the woman holding the vei l in front of her
face and the o:her set has an example of the woman with her hand
on her hip. The figures in the two sets ore very alike in style and
probably 0 11 com e from the same Athenian workshop. Examples
cf two of the first set and three of the second set have been found
in Olynthos, so that they con 011 be doted in the second quort'~r
of the fourth century B. C Th~ mo'l in whase 10mb these sets were
put must hav.z been either an actor or 0 poet -ar a lover of comedy, and it is reosO:lobi;'! 1:> s'Jppose that the se ts represents I·he
casts of two camedi::s in which h? was specially interested. The
two women hove the some mask, which is distinguished by the
c urious peak of hair in the centre of :he fQrhead, probably indicating that the hair was held by a metal clasp here. In the New
Comedy of M~nander and his successcrs 0 very similar mask was
wor.'" by the younger versi::m cf the Pseudokore; the curious ti tle
"False-maiden" seems to mean that she is a maiden becouse paren ts will be discovered in th:: ccurse of the ploy and a false-mai
den becaus? she is living with th: man whom she will ultimately
marry. In Middle Comedy this was probably the mask worn by the
heroine of the ploy. In the first New York se t the woman holding
her Veil is probably Auge wr.o has be2.1 roped by Heroktes, and the
ploy was a parcdy of Euripides' Augc possibly by t he comic poet
Euboulos. In the second Nevl York set the girl with her hand on
her hip is prcbably in love with 0 young man, wnose frie . or slave
.,d
(both ore characters) extracts money from his fath::r's bailiff to
buy her from her moth -er . Both sets give us interesting evidence
for Attic com2cy in the period between Aristopho:1es ond Menander, which \',1 -2 only know from fragmentary quotations,
(2) Cf. BIEBER: "HIsTory of the Greek Theatre" , fig . 129 {New York.
from Athensl.
LUSCHEY: "Gonymed", 74, fig. 2-3.
ROBINSON: "Olynthos", XIV, num. 380 D.
WEBSTER: "Greek Theatre Production", 181, nUIn. 120.
(~)
BIEBER: "History of the Greek Theatre", fig. 122_128, 129-135 .
WEBSTER: "Greek Theatre Production". 7! -3.
136
[page-n-137]
W I~ II S'f .. It.:
Two
I..AM. I.
" lI i~ ~omi~ a~ to rs.
2
Two attic co mic actors (AmpuriasJ 0 / 1)
(Poto GTOllo)
[page-n-138]