Terracotta figurines discovered in ancient Smyrna

Smyrna was re-founded on the slopes of Mt. Pagos (Kadifekale) in the 4th century B.C. In the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods the city was one of the ancient world?s important centers for the production of terra cotta figurines. Hundreds of Smyrna-produced figurines found in the 18th and 19th centuries are presently exhibited in various museums of Europe and America. The find places of these figurines, retrieved in the city in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, are not precisely known. Because they do not belong to a definite context they have until now been evaluated only from the aspects of technique and style.A large number of the 42 figurines and figurine fragments which are the subject of this study were retrieved from the excavations in the Agora of Smyrna; one of the first systematic excavations of the Turkish Republic, it has continued at intervals up to the present day. Also, a further number of the works studied were found in Kadifekale and its surroundings. The artifacts considered here are important from the standpoint of being the first group of figurines found in Smyrna within the framework of archaeological excavations and whose find places are known with certainty. This situation has made it possible for the first time to evaluate a group of figurines found in Smyrna from the aspects of find place and condext.The artifacts were evaluated from technical and stylistic standpoints and the results of these evaluations were compared with other Smyrna-produced figurines found in various museums. On conclusion of this study it was seen that the artifacts examined bear technical and stilistic characteristics which are particular to this production center, characteristics which have been made clear in very many sources pertaining to the subject. Further, new data were obtained concerning Smyrna?s Roman period figurines, which up to the present have not been profoundly studied.Considering as a whole the results arrived at, the artifact?s find place and, if any, its contextual data, suggestions have been made relative to the functions and dates of the figurines studied.This study will also make a contribution towards understanding other figurine groups that may be obtained from the on-going excavations.Key Words: Smyrna, figurines, terracotta, Hellenistic, Roman.