The tambourine player is one of the most widespread iconographic terracotta types from the Archaic period (750 – 480 BCE). It belongs to a series of Cypriot figurines, all holding circular objects, which appear in various styles, techniques, and even in other materials, such as limestone.
Also, the tambourine itself can differ in size and position among similar figurines and is sometimes rendered as a separate object (fig. 1). It is this distinctive attribute that allows us to identify the figurine as a musician. However, some smaller figurines holding a circular object have instead been identified as bearers carrying offerings, such as cakes or pomegranates.
Fig. 1 – Cypro-Archaic female tambourine player
with a wheel-made cylindrical body holding a tambourine
with both hands curved in front of the chest
(from Met Museum collection, OA)
Besides musicians, other figurines of the third group have been identified as bearers (fig. 2) holding birds, small quadrupeds, or ritual cups (the so-called Greek pàtera). Additionally, figurines with raised hands or hands in a prayerful position may represent singers. Many other individual or grouped figurines, including circular arrangements, have been discovered across the island. In some cases, the specific role of the figurine or the object it carries remains uncertain.
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Fig. 2 – Cypro-Archaic female lyra player
(The Trustees of the British Museum. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
The shape and type of a figurine can contain valuable information that, when combined with a study of the technique, may help researchers identify the workshop that produced it. However, in the case of this tambourine player, a detailed stylistic analysis is complicated by the worn-down surfaces. Additionally, the unknown provenance of the figurine further hinders efforts to determine its workshop of origin.