Funerary Statues of a Maiden and a Little Girl in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Marble funerary statues of a maiden and a little girl
Greek, Attic, ca. 320 BC
Said to have been found in Athens

Accession # 44.11.2-3

Toward the end of the fourth century BC, Attic grave monuments became increasingly elaborate. Freestanding figures such as these were often placed within a shallow, roofed marble structure that was open at the front. The older girl must have died in her teens, before marriage, for she wears her mantle pinned at the shoulders and hanging down her back. This distinctive manner of dress was apparently reserved for young virgins who had the honor of leading processions to sacrifice, while carrying a basket containing barley, fillets, and the sacrificial knife. Being a kanephoros (basket bearer) was the highest honor possible for a maiden in the years just preceding marriage, and this girl is represented wearing the festival dress.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.