The wounded Amazon of Kresilas
The wounded Amazon of Kresilas
Here you see two pictures of the first published, fully preserved Amazon of the type Mattei. It is the only intact authentic terracotta statuette of this type we know of.
The ancient authenticy is confirmed by termoluminescense analysis.
The expertise confirms:
– fired in antiquity,
– 2,500 years ago
+/- 20 %.
Until today the archaeologists did not find a sculpture, that shows an entirely preserved Amazon type Mattei.
To understand the construction and iconography of the classic Greek bronze statues, they made a complete reconstruction with help of preserved fragments of Roman marble copies.
In the past for instance, they used the head of the Amazon type Sciarra to complete the preserved headless copy of the Amazon type Mattei.
The here shown antique statuette is very important for the knowledge about the Amazons of Ephesus.
Scientifically important is that the terracotta shows us that the Amazon type Mattei is a women warrior holding a bow. Also solved is the controversial and much debated question of the competition between the ancient sculptors, which made the three preserved wounded Amazon types and which one of them has built the best ( See M. Weber, Neues zu den Amazonen von Ephesus, THETIS 15, Verlag Franz Philipp Rutzen, Mannheim 2008 ).
also see: http://www.amazonen-info.de
