Dancing Woman with Articulated Limbs
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 October 12, 2026.
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
Head and torso of a dancing woman or girl with articulated limbs (sometimes called a “doll”); the articulated limbs are not extant.
She wears a high, cylindrical headdress (a polos) over long hair that hangs over her shoulders. She is clothed in a short chiton or tunic. There are grooves present on the left outer edge and left bottom corner (front) of the torso/tunic, as well as on the right bottom corner (front). Additionally, there are shallow vertical indentations along the bottom “hem” of her tunic, perhaps indicating a fringe or a decorated hemline.
Read on
Solid. Mold-made. The front is modeled, and the back is flat. Features are worn. Horizontal piercings in the shoulder and hips would have allowed the attachment of the limbs. (Legs would have been suspended between the three flanges at the bottom of the body.) The rightmost (her left) flange is chipped. Additionally, there is a vertical piercing in the top of the head/polos.
Fine, well-levigated fabric of light reddish yellow clay. Some white slip/ground is present, especially on the left side of her torso and the right side of her face. No other coloration is visible. Dark accretion is present, particularly on the upper portion of the torso, neck, face, and polos (headdress).
Said to have been found in a tomb near Troy.
Harvard Art Museums
Details
- Accession number
- 1955.117
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
