Figure of a running girl
- Audio guide stop: 233
- Gallery: Room 13
- Culture: Archaic Greek
- Made in: Laconia (Greece) (?)
- Date: 520BC-500BC
- Object type: figure
- Materials: bronze
- Museum number: 1876,0510.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you stands a small bronze figure of a running girl, created during the Archaic Greek period, around 520 to 500 BC. The figure is finely cast and measures just over 100 millimeters in height, with carefully shaped arms and legs that give the impression of movement. Her foot contains a surviving bronze rivet, a detail that suggests she may have once been a decorative attachment to a vessel or tool.
This work comes from Laconia in Greece, though it was said to be found in Prizren. Running figures like this one reflect the Greek emphasis on athletics and physical prowess during this era. The craftsmanship is remarkable for such a tiny sculpture, capturing both energy and elegance in bronze. It is rare for such figures to survive, making this example especially valuable. The piece was acquired through a purchase from Seraphine.
See it in person
Figure of a running girl is on display in Room 13 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 233, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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