Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs, 5th century BCE

Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs

5th century BCE · Sculpture

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the sculpture

Because these figurines have limbs that move they are often called "dolls." Where they? Perhaps! Children play with all sorts of things, even when they are not supposed to. Did they function exclusively as dolls? Unlikely. Since they probably represent ritual dancers, they could have had a more "serious" religious function. Were these uses mutually exclusive? Not at all! The beauty of figurines is that they could have fulfilled many different roles depending on who held them, and when, and where. Indeed, their roles are still evolving, as today they work as objects that allow us to learn about the lived lives of past people.

Similar examples said to be from Corinth. See, for instance, 1865,0720.36 at the British Museum.

Harvard Art Museums

Details

Accession number
1925.30.84

In the catalog

Sources

On view at Harvard Art Museums

Museum page