Bronze Statuette of Athletic Spartan Girl
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The Bronze Statuettes of Athletic Spartan Girl are bronze figurines depicting a Spartan young woman wearing a short tunic in a presumably running pose. These statuettes are considered Spartan manufacture dating from the 6th century B.C.,[1] and they were used as decorative attachments to ritual vessels as votive dedications, such as a cauldron,[2] suggested by the bronze rivet on their feet.[3] The figures typically have their hair hung down, right arm slightly bent, left hand lifted the hem of the chiton skirt and expose part of the left thigh, likely to facilitate the movement, and their legs in a wide stride.
The style of the statuettes is attributed to Laconian (the region where Sparta is located) workshops in the Archaic Period. The typical characteristics of Laconian bronzes are slender bodies with unproportional muscular legs, arched and swelling thighs, immature chests in female figures, and long faces with strongly marked facial features.[4] Laconian bronzes were widely traded, which helps to explain why some of those Laconian manufacture were not discovered in the region. It may also suggest the possible presence of Laconian craftsmen at that site.[4]