Young Girl Statue: Expert Essay Example

The ‘Young Girl Statue’ is an object of interest in this analysis, which covers material use, source, provenance, measurements, description, and identification. Its comparison with the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ offers an interesting perspective to the discourse that integrates elements of culture, art, and identity. The ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ is a “comparandum” of the ‘Young Girl Statue,’ stating the several characteristics they share, albeit significant disparities in size, iconography, form, production, and composition.

The ‘Young Girl Statue’

            The curator of the ‘female statue’ exhibited it as the ‘Pedestal 15 – Young Girl’ at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Art & Artifact Collection in 2009. Its long history dates back to the 4^th century under object identifier 1979.05.0001.[1] The art piece is a sculpture made of marble, and extremely heavy to carry or weigh. However, Talalay, Lauren E and Cool, Margaret Roo published it in 2015, creating an image sized 1083 x 1651 and a downloadable file of 120 KB.[2] The dimensions only provide a slight introduction into various elements of the sculpture that are better described using its “comparandum,” ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture.’

‘The Female Worshipper’

            The ‘Female Worshipper,’ formerly ‘Female Statuette’ is a 16th-mid 15^th century BCE sculpture of dimensions 6.7 x 3.2 x 3 cm.[3] Its object identifier is 1975.60 and its design technique is cast, low-wax process of the Bronze medium. Additional alloying elements of the artefact include copper, lead, tin, arsenic, and nickel.[4] Leo Mildenberg of Zurich, Switzerland first owned it in 1960 and sold the piece to Fogg Art Museum in 1975.

Comparison

Iconography

            ‘The Young Girl Statue’ depicts purity because virginity, morality, and cleanliness were common themes during the period of its creation. The left picture in the illustration above is of the ‘Young Girl Statue,’ which uses the pink color to depict innocence and no face to conceal identity. On the right side is the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ with a long attire as its “comparandum,” although it exhibits signs of physical maturity. An outstanding feature in both is the concept of decency, which reinforces the purity that artists advanced when they used female characters in the 4^th to 17^th centuries. [5] & [6] For instance, one is a lengthy hollow skirt while the other is a dress with similar attributes, as both hide feet.

Form

‘The Young Girl Statue’ has a simple pink color on a bronze material. A close look at the artifact reveals some whitish parts to define creases on the dress. It has no waistline except for an overlap and a defined mid-section under an almost invisible bosom. The ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ has a defined figure with a small waistline and an accompanying chest area. Bronze creates a meticulous brown color, which blend perfectly with the shimmery turquoise blue additions on an open-breasted jacket. The bronze is alloyed with other metals, including copper and nickel, making the green and black accretions dominant.[7] Form clearly distinguishes a girl from a woman in the statue and its “comparandum.”

Style

            ‘The Young Girl Statue’ is from Greece and is dated late 4^th century BC while he ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ is 16th-mid 15th century BCE sculpture from Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Crete.[8] ‘The Young Girl Statue’ exemplifies a period that glorified purity in virgins while the ‘The Young Girl Statue’ embodied a society that upheld piousness. The latter adheres to the Minoan culture even before Fogg Art Museum acquired it in 1975 from Leo Mildenberg, Zurich, Switzerland.[9] The latter has undergone different cultural transitions, which explains why its representation of faith ad purity slightly differs from ‘The Young Girl Statue.’

Function and Production

            No special function is attached to ‘The Young Girl Statue’ or the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture,’ although on face value one can see that both communicated deep cultural beliefs of the Greek and Minoan people. One was made of marble and the other bronze. The difference insinuates disparities in quality, which explains why the ‘The Young Girl Statue’ is heavy and immobile while the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ is easy to carry.[10] From a critical point of view, both are essential parts of the traditions they represent but the materials used detailed the value placed on the artifacts and community.

Date

            ‘The Young Girl Statue’ is older than the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture.’ They are about 12 centuries apart but share almost similar stories. Among the Greek, decency among young girls was critical because of religious and cultural beliefs. In the 16^th century, Europeans were particular about the same concept except that religion was the main theme of the epoch. As a result, it was normal for artists to focus on religious purity while emphasizing the critical role of women in carrying it with grace. The differences in production and exhibition dates has a limited significance on the messaging and cultural value.

Patron and Controversy

            The history of the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’s commissioning is outlined since the David M. Robinson Fund acquired it from Mr. and Mrs. Edwin L. Weisl, Jr., although initially it was located at the Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum.[11] The history of commissioning reveals why the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ is culturally diverse while ‘The Young Girl Statue’ is more reserve but rich in the traditions of the Greeks. None of the artifacts is controversial or caused any challenges during purchase, exhibition, or drawing. Relevant parties can always track ownership without conflicts.

            A notable difference is that the ‘Young Girl Statue’ is preserved at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Art & Artifact Collection while the ‘Female Worshipper’ is at The Harvard Art Museums.’ At Kesley, the ‘Young Girl Statue’ static and almost impossible to replicate. However, Harvard Art Museums are not the first destination for the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture.’ It means the former is safer and the represented community has a sense of ownership, which differs from the artifact at the Harvard Art Museums.

            ‘The Young Girl Statue’ is a unique depiction of early womanhood while the ‘Female Worshipper Sculpture’ exemplifies purity and virtue in a woman who understands her societal value and position. Although they are culturally different, they communicate the same language by detailing the positions different women at dissimilar stages represented society.

Bibliography

[1]“Female Statue; Marble”. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kelsey/x-1979.05.0001/1979_05_0001p05.tif. 

[2] “Female Statue; Marble”. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kelsey/x-1979.05.0001/1979_05_0001p05.tif. 

[3] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.

[4] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.

[5] “Female Statue; Marble”. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kelsey/x-1979.05.0001/1979_05_0001p05.tif. 

[6] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.

[7] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.

[8] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.

[9] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.

[10] “Female Statue; Marble”. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kelsey/x-1979.05.0001/1979_05_0001p05.tif. 

[11] “Female Worshipper; Bronze”. Harvard Art Museums. https://hvrd.art/o/196418.