Kore, Reconstitution of Motifs

With her masculine counterpart the kouros, the kore (“maiden” in Greek) is absolutely typical of Archaic Greek sculpture. These statues of young Greeks on the Acropolis in Athens in the 6th century BC were dedicated to Athena—goddess of the city.

Korai statues adopt a conventional posture. Usually dressed in the Ionian style, they make an offering of fruit, a vase, or a bird. However, each sculpture is unique and made individual by the style of the artist and the moment that it was created as Archaic sculpture evolved.

The Kore of Lyon is characteristic of this type of statue. Upright, majestic, and powerfully built, the young girl presses the offering of a bird to her breast. The plastic stiffness of the model is tempered by a wealth of carved ornamentation, which was originally painted. The decorative elements belong to the repertoire of eastern Greece, where artists were heavily influenced by Ionian art. This can be seen in the chiton and the himation she is wearing. Her hair, a polos (crown), and delicately carved earrings adorn her gracious face. One of the Department of Antiquities' masterpieces, the Kore of Lyon still holds many mysteries that scientific researchers are trying to fathom.