Statuette of a Priestess
Bronze
Iberian, from Spain
Late 6th - early 5th century B.C.
Height: 4 1/8 inches (10.5 cm)
Situated at what was then literally the end of the world, Spain's rich deposits of metal resources attracted adventurous Mediterranean mariners as early as the 9th century B.C. Over the next three centuries, Phoenician luxury imports established an Iberian taste for exotic 'orientalizing' works of art. By around 600 B.C., when the Phoenicians, having incurred the wrath of their Assyrian overlords, were forced to cease trading with the Iberians, the Greeks gladly stepped into their place. Over the next century, a distinct Iberian style developed from the mingling of Phoenician, Greek and native Celtic influences. Our statuette, whose dress imitates Ionian Greek models, was almost certainly a dedication at a temple or sanctuary. The woman wears the tall miter associated with Iberian priestesses and worshippers. Her wide-open eyes are a sign that she stands in the presence of a divinity, her overlapping hands with upturned palms are a gesture of supplication.
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