Large Scale Clay Sculpture from Arcadia

Abstract

Size, technique and mainly the concept of the work as an άγαλμα are the criteria we need in order to study large scale clay sculpture. In this paper we are dealing with such works found in Arcadia. More specifically, a centre for production of clay sculpture was located in Arcadia in the 6th century B.C., working probably under the influence of the workshops of Olympia, which were very active at that time. More local products of clay sculpture appeared also later in the region, at the beginning of the 4th century B.C., but now the influence came from the contemporary, large-scale sculpture in stone, which was intended to decorate the temples in Tegea and Bassai. Local clay sculpture offers us in general another insight to Arcadia's artistic production, which is not yet so well known.