Joined Doll - Figurine - Ancient Greece - Children's Toy, Charm, Protective Role - Plexiglass Base - Ceramic Artifact

Item Specifics

Condition: New, Handmade in Greece.
Height: 17,5 cm - 6,9 inches
Width: 6 cm - 2,36 inches
Length: 6 cm - 2,36 inches
Weight: 130 g

Many examples of such small jointed figurines have been found in tombs, sanctuaries, and terracotta factories. Their attire—a cylindrical polos (headdress) and a short tunic and shoes—seems to indicate that they are ritual dancers. Similarly dressed dancers on reliefs of the fifth century B.C. hold castanets, and some of the jointed figurines hold cymbals or castanets. They are too fragile to serve as real dolls .
Ancient writers suggest that, just before their marriage, girls would dedicate dolls and other toys to various goddesses. Some scholars, however, think that these terracotta dolls were not the toys referred to in literary sources. They think that their primary purpose was religious. The dolls would have been hung as charms, with the movement and noise of their swinging arms and legs meant to scare off evil spirits. Their placement in graves and sanctuaries would have been connected with this protective role.