Artemis

Affordable offerings
In ancient Greece, figurines like these were often used as offerings to the gods. Their milky colouring and formal poses are reflected in Bronwynne Cornish’s contemporary ceramics in this exhibition. But while Cornish’s figures are one-off art works, these were mass-produced from moulds – even the poor could afford them.

The tall figure holding the bow and rabbit is Artemis, goddess of the hunt and protector of wild animals. But not all Greek figurines represented gods. Some depicted everyday people, such as the young boy wearing a traditional himation (wrap) and sun hat.