Statuette Group of a Woman Feeding a Hen with Chicks

In the early 400s B.C. in Boiotia, the region to the north of Athens, artists working in terracotta showed a unique interest in depicting a wide range of realistic scenes drawn from everyday life. Small hand-modeled terracotta figurines show people performing mundane tasks and activities. Scenes from the kitchen, such as women kneading dough or watching the oven, are most common, but there are also musicians, carpenters, barbers, butchers, and people caring for the household animals. This statuette shows just such a scene with livestock. A woman bends forward and stretches out her hands to feed a hen who shelters five chicks under her wings. The woman wears a close-fitting dress and a cap that leaves a row of curls exposed on her forehead. The statuette was once brightly painted, although today only a white base-coat and traces of black paint on the woman's hair and the hen remain. A flat base links the various elements of the group.

The precise function of these statuettes is unknown. The fact that most examples have been found in graves has led some scholars to suggest that the figures were meant to serve the deceased in the afterlife. Other scholars believe that they may only be simple children's toys.