Gloria S. Merker

About 24,000 figurines and fragments were found during excavations at the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore, greatly enriching the known body of Corinthian figurines not only in number but also in the addition of many entirely new types and styles. Working far beyond the output of the Potters' Quarter workshops, the Corinthian coroplasts are revealed as inventive, often highly adept in technique, and attuned to stylistic developments in the plastic arts in general. Most importantly, the evidence suggests that there may have been a link in Corinth between the manufacture of terracotta figurines and small bronze ones, especially in the 4th and early 3rd centuries B.C., through the use of shared models. If this is true, the figurines provide a glimpse of the mostly lost bronze production of that period. The figurines are also important because they help to explicate the meaning and conduct of the cult of Demeter and Kore in Corinth. Since the literary sources and inscriptions are unfortunately not as abundant as one would wish, the nature and conduct of the cult must be understood largely through the architecture and other finds. The figural coroplastic art provides additional data on the deities and heroes recognized at the sanctuary, the age and gender of the participants in the rituals, the offerings they brought, and the nature of their cultic activities. Beyond these data, the figurines are examined for what they may reveal through their imagery of the underlying ideas of the cult, how the deities were perceived, why they were approached, and how the cult functioned as a part of Corinthian society.

Terracotta Figurines of the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman Periods

The Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore

Nancy Bookidis

Charles K. Williams

A series of kilns at ancient Corinth known as the Tile Works are given final publication in this long-awaited book, based on excavations conducted in 1939 and 1940 (as war was closing in) by Carl Roebuck and Arthur Parsons, and renewed briefly in 1950 by Gladys Weinberg. The artisans at the Tile Works produced not only roof tiles but a whole range of terracotta articles from the 6th to 4th centuries B.C., with one break in production in the late 5th to early 4th century. These products included, at different periods, architectural sculpture and decorated revetments; heavy household pottery such as mortars and lekanai; loomweights; votive furniture such as altars and plaques; and even some fine and semi-fine pottery. The standard of craftsmanship was very high and the artifacts produced found enthusiastic markets in other parts of Greece; as the revetments of roofs at Delphi, for example, and as mortars in the markets of Athens. The Tile Works, therefore, along with the Potters Quarter, was one of the major and most prolific industrial establishments in ancient Corinth. In this study, the principal features and deposits are first discussed, in order to establish the chronology of the three successive kilns on the site, and to try to relate them to known events in Corinth. The manufactures are then considered, beginning with a discussion of fabrics and techniques of manufacture, then moving on to typology and dating. The study concludes with a presentation of the Corinthian pottery and other artifacts found at the Tile Works but not made there, and a catalogue of terracottas by Charles Williams."

Gloria S. Merker

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