The kore, or “young girl” in Greek, is the feminine counterpart of the kouros, which is the most representative type of archaic Greek sculpture. On the Acropolis at Athens in the 6th century B.C., these statues of young people were dedicated to Athena, goddess of the city.

They were always sculpted in a conventional pose. Most often dressed in the Ionian style, they present an offering of fruit, a vase or a bird. But each sculpture is somewhat different from the next, depending on the artist’s style and the moment of its creation within the development of archaic sculpture.

The Lyon Kore is characteristic of this type of statue. Upright, majestic and powerfully built, the young woman holds the offering of a bird to her chest. The stiffness of the model is tempered by the richness of chiseled adornments, which were formerly painted. The decorative elements belong to the repertory of Eastern Greece, where artists were strongly influenced by the Ionian style. Thus, the young woman is dressed in a chiton and a himation; a delicately sculpted polos headdress, hair and earrings set off the graceful face.

An outstanding work from the Antiquities Department, the Lyon Kore still conceals a number of mysteries that scientific research is currently trying to elucidate.