Artwork Details
Culture
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
18-3/4 in.
Accession Number
Credit Line
Purchased by the Art Association from the legacy of J. Anton Scherrer in memory of Josephine Turner Scherrer and Adolph Turner Scherrer
Copyright
Collection
Color Palette
Gallery Labels
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of grain and fertility, and Zeus, the king of the gods. In this statuette, Persephone wears a long peplos and would have been carrying grain or a piglet.
Hades fell in love with Persephone, and abducted her while she was picking flowers in Enna, on the island of Sicily. Demeter, heartbroken at the loss of her daughter, implored Zeus to help her. Zeus convinced Hades to let Persephone return to earth. However, a soul that ingested food in Hades was never permitted to return to the world of the living. Persephone had eaten six seeds of a pomegranate, so she was able to go above ground for only six months of the year. Demeter's sadness at Persephone's absence was believed to be the cause of the winter and fall seasons, and spring marks her return.
More from the Collection
Content Disclaimer and Usage Rights
Metadata about the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection comes from Newfields’ records and research. In some cases, information may be incomplete and research is ongoing. Newfields’ goal is to have as up-to-date metadata as possible, therefore, this information is subject to change. Newfields collections’ metadata is available under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) waiver, which allows for re-use without legal restrictions.
Artworks that appear in the image file(s) above may be in copyright or have other legal and/or cultural restrictions to their use. For clarity, Newfields does not claim copyright to the image files created by Newfields of artworks in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. Newfields makes every effort to ascertain the copyright status of artworks in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. Please refer to the RightsStatements.org statement above for information about the current copyright status of the artwork. Additionally, some artworks may include Local Context’s Notices or Labels that attribute cultural authority of the artwork’s heritage and data.
Additional information about Newfields’ reproduction guidelines can be found in the Licensing Resources.
4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 46208-3326 | 317-923-1331
Copyright © 2024 Newfields. All rights reserved.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-251861-OMS-22].