It is proposed in this paper to deal shortly with five terracottas in the possession of the writer, which seem of sufficient interest to be illustrated. The first three are from Boeotia, the last two from Crete.

As is well known, the most primitive Greek standing figures in terracotta frequently take one of two forms—the columnar form, derived probably from the tree trunk, and the flat broad form (σανίς), taken apparently from the shape of a board of wood. These forms confirm the literary evidence that the most primitive statues were made of wood. The first three terracottas illustrate the latter type; in the second of them the boardlike form has been adapted by a singular device to a seated figure.