Draped Female Figure

The beautifully draped statue of a mature woman may be a representation of Calliope, the muse of epic poetry. A flat surface on the folds of the cloak against the left arm of the figure may have held a tablet, an attribute of Calliope. She might have been fashioned as a funerary monument, representing a deceased matron as Calliope, or as part of a public sculpture with all nine muses portrayed. Her stance produces a gentle curve to her body. Since the back of the statue is unfinished it was presumably set against a wall or in a niche. The work of art appears to be a late Hellenistic copy of an early Hellenistic creation, elegant even though incomplete.

Credit: City of Detroit Purchase