Dancer of Pergamon
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Dancer of Pergamon is the modern name for a Hellenistic statue of a woman from Pergamon, which is now kept at the Antikensammlung Berlin.
The Dancer was found in March 1886 during the German excavations of Pergamon in one of the two dining rooms of Palace V (the notes on the find location in the excavation diary speak for the dining room with the Hephaestion mosaic). From there it was accessioned to the Berlin Antikensammlung (inventory number AvP VII 43), where it formed part of the Pergamonmuseum until 2010. In 2011/12 it formed part of the special exhibition "Pergamon: Panorama of the Ancient Metropole."
The statue of white translucent marble is 120 cm high (114 cm excluding the base), and the head is 14.5 m high. It depicts a young woman, with her left leg forward, giving the impression that she is moving forward. Her right hand is raised. It was made from a separate piece of stone and has not survived. Her left hand reaches downwards, lightly gripping her dress. The hand and part of the lower arm are not preserved; nor are the statue base and the feet, which have been replaced by a modern creation made of imitation marble. The clothes and face are partially damaged; her nose and many pieces of her dress are missing. The maiden wears several thin layers of fabric which hug her body closely in some parts and forming deep folds of drapery in others. The lowest layer is a sleeved chiton with very fine folds, over which she wears another, armless garment. The fine, rippling fabric is framed at the neck and shoulders by a broad border. The outermost layer is a voluminous cloak, which falls in broad, deep folds. It hangs from her right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder and left breast free and recalls in its shape the cloaks worn by archaic Kore statues of the 6th century BC. The clothing enhances the dynamism of the statue rather than concealing it. The creator of the statue played with various oppositions, as with the broad-spread posture on the one hand and the torsion of the upper body on the other. Similarly, the measured forms of archaic sculpture, with its stitched folds and closely aligned pieces of fabric on the legs, contrast with the lavish cloak flowing out behind her - an entirely different form of materiality. This use of oppositions is also seen in the head and face. Thus, the face is shown with blooming cheeks, deep-set eyes, a small, full mouth, as well as long wavy hair, held back by a band on the forehead and temples. These features are answered by rigid spiral locks of hair on the neck and in front of the ears, which are carved in an archaic style.