A number of objects in the CU Art Museum's collection have been identified as potential offerings based on their form or appearance.听A general lack of , however, prevents us from making definite declarations about their function. Objects identified as offerings听are typically听found in sacred areas such as temples as 听辞谤 听to the dead. The听Bronze Age pyxis, or lidded box, is an example of a common burial find. Such vessels were used to hold cosmetics, jewelry, or small objects and may have kept these items safe for their owner in the grave.
Terracotta figurines are often found in religious sanctuaries, tombs, and household shrines and, in such cases, are usually identified as offerings.听Ancient Greeks started making small, fired clay figurines in the shape of humans and animals as early as (6,000-3,000 B.C.E.).听 In the Greek and Roman periods (ca. 800 B.C.E.-400 C.E.), artisans听would produce terracotta figurines听in the form of local gods and goddesses for the purpose of selling them to pilgrims to use as dedications in the city's sanctuaries. Typically, terracotta figurines did not leave the city in which they were produced听and they are therefore different from other archaeological materials, such as听coins and pottery, which traveled widely via .
A figurine of a harpy,听a hybrid creature with the body and wings of a bird with a woman's torso and head, resembles depictions of sirens that often decorated tripod cauldrons.听Tripod cauldrons were frequently dedicated at religious sanctuaries, especially in the Geometric and Orientalizing periods (c. 900 to 650 B.C.E.).听
Three female terracotta figurines in the collection听all seem to represent goddesses. The 6th century B.C.E. East Greek figurine听(pictured here)听was made in a mold and holds an object that may be a dove. The dove is a bird sacred to the goddess Aphrodite and this figurine may therefore represent Aphrodite herself or a woman bringing an offering to the goddess. The other two female terracotta figurines in the collection were made by hand. Each wears a polos, a type of headdress that is usually worn by goddesses, particularly those relating to fertility. The mid-6th century B.C.E. Boeotian figurine has听a rather curly version of the polos!听The other, a 6th century B.C.E. Laconian figurine,听has disks at her breast which may represent a necklace with pendants. Objects such as these were used as votive offerings to deities; the dedicators hoped to incur favor with the gods by bringing them gifts.
Finally, a mid-6th century B.C.E. horse and rider figurine听may听have been . Horses were popular subjects in Greek art. Both the animals themselves and their maintenance were costly听and therefore听ownership of horses was an indication of considerable wealth. Although this figurine is simplified, the subject is immediately recognizable; the artist has managed to capture the spirit of the horse and rider through very basic shapes and patterns. The lines on the horse's body do not reflect any real pattern on the horse, but instead add a sense of movement and interest to the figure. This figurine may have been included in a child's grave.
Many objects, including not just figurines but also mundane and specialized vessels, can serve a variety of functions and can be identified as offerings only by their , that is, where they were found. A听vessel excavated from a tomb, for example, is usually identified as a burial offering, while one found in a sanctuary as a religious offering. The same vessel, however, can be found in domestic or refuse contexts, which changes their interpretation. Finally, an object could have served several purposes over its lifetime.听Objects, then, are open to multiple interpretations听and scholars often disagree about which one is correct.听
This essay was written to accompany a collection of Greek artifacts at the CU Art Museum.听