Lot 160: w - JOSÉ PINAZO MARTÍNEZ SPANISH, 1879-1933

DAMA DE ELCHE (THE LADY OF ELCHE)

measurements note
57cm., 22½in.

signed and dated: J. Pinazo M / Paris 1908

stone

NOTE

The famous Dama de Elche is a stone, formerly polychromed, bust that was discovered in 1897 at L'Alcúdia, an archaeological site just south of Elche (Elx in Catalan) near Alicante, Valencia. It is generally believed to date to the 4th century BC, with strong Hellenistic influences.

The bust probably represents a princess or priestess, wearing a very complex headdress and big coils on each side of the face. The aperture in the rear, faithfully replicated here, indicates it may have been used as a funerary urn.

Soon after excavation, the bust was purchased by the French archaeologist Pierre Paris, who loaned it to the Louvre. Pinazo would have seen it there and carved the present replica, one of the earliest to be made. The original was returned to Spain by the Vichy government in 1941 and is now in the National Archaeological Museum. Continuing appeals for its return to Elche have resulted in its temporary display there, where it can be seen until 1st November 2006.

The Dama de Elche has long been considered a major work of ancient Iberian art and appeared on the one-peseta national banknote.