4th century BC. A burnished terracotta figurine of the goddess Demeter (Greek Ceres) standing and holding the hem of her palla with her right hand, left hand raised to her chest, wearing a polos with veil covering the head in a gesture of prayer (capite velato); rectangular hole to the reverse to be fixed as ex voto, hollow to the underside. See a similar statuette in Bottini, P. (ed.), Greci e indigeni tra Noce e Lao, Lavello, 1998, p.154. 1.7 kg, 39cm (15 1/4"). Property of a North West London gallery; formerly in a 1980s collection. The cult of the Great Mother (Magna Mater) was one of the oldest in the Greek world. Originally attested in Asia Minor, she was a protector of the natural world and human fertility, often identified with Demeter. Statuettes of the goddess, seated or standing, or even busts, are well documented in the South of Italy, both among the Greek colonists and the local populations, many have been excavated from regional sanctuaries.