Biconical Bead with Bird
Ancient Greek Painting and Sculpture
-800–-700
- Medium
- Bronze
- Dimensions
- 4.3 × 3.3 × 1.1 cm (1 11/16 × 1 1/4 × 3/8 in.)
- Genre
- Votive offering
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
Greekvotive offeringbirdgeometricex-votobeadbronzecostumeancient
About
This precious bronze object is a votive, or devotional gift, made as an offering to the gods. They come in many forms, such as animals, beads and brooches. Many seem once to have been attached to something else. Votives were hung from sacred trees or placed in sanctuaries around Greece. Once a shrine was full, the votives were ceremonially buried to make room for more offerings.
