Votive Plaque (Pinax) with Persephone Making her Bridal Bed

c. 490–450 BC

Votive Plaque (Pinax) with Persephone Making her Bridal Bed, c. 490–450 BC. West Greek/South Italian. Terracotta; height: 17.1 cm (6 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Private Collection 26.2020 Private Collection Probably brightly painted when made, this relief plaque, or pinax (plural: pinakes), depicts the goddess Persephone (or Kore), daughter of the grain goddess, Demeter. Following her kidnapping by Hades, god of the Underworld, Persephone regularly returned to earth, dictating the seasons and making agriculture possible. Thus, she had many devotees, including at Locri Epizephirii, near the “toe” of Italy, where thousands of votive pinakes like this were made. Although many show her abduction, here the scene is tranquil, with Persephone holding a cloth above a bed or dresser. A rooster frequently appears with Persephone, perhaps because they share associations with fertility and transitions.