Torso of a Female Marble Statue

Portion of a life-size female statue torso. The preserved elements include the shoulder and part of the arm, whose position suggests that the figure originally stood upright and static, with the right arm extended and held close to the body, and the head (now lost) slightly turned. The fine folds visible on the surface belong to the thin garment worn by the figure, probably a peplos.

Discovered on the eastern side of the great Temple A in the early 20th century, this fragment of a female statue is almost certainly a surviving element of the pedimental decoration—the triangular space above the temple façade, often adorned with sculptural groups. This interpretation is supported by the presence of a square hole on the back of the fragment, intended to receive a metal dowel used to secure the statue to the temple structure. The style of the sculpture finds close parallels in relief works from central and northern Greece, such as the famous stele with female figures from Pharsalos (now in the Louvre), as well as in the productions of the artistic school of the island of Paros. These comparisons indicate that the workshop responsible for the statue was deeply influenced by the most advanced Greek sculptural traditions of the 5th century BC. The marble used, imported from the Greek islands, further enhances the prestige of the work.