The sculpture

From a technical point of view, the sculpture known as the Lady of Elche is a round bust sculpted in biocalcarenite fossiliferous limestone from the El Ferriol quarry in Elche (P. Rouillard and his team, CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research), 2007), located 9 km away from La Alcudia of Elche, the archaeological site where she was found by chance on 4th August 1897 while some farming work was taking place.

She measures 56 cm high, 49 cm wide and 37 cm deep at the base. She weighs 65 kg

Some hypothetical reconstructions of the Lady of Elche. Left: Sculptural reconstruction in an offering position (standing). Centre top and bottom: colour reconstruction (illustrated by Francisco Vives). Right: colour reconstruction in a sitting position (illustrated by Francisco Vives).

*Female bust depicting a lady with very perfect facial features and with traces of polychromy on the lips and specific parts of the face and clothing. The lady is lavishly attired: the head is crowned with a headdress consisting of a sharp tiara covered by a veil and, on top of it, a strap that joins the two lateral coils or ‘cases’ that frame the face, where the hairstyle would have been tied up, and a hairband on the forehead; The back and shoulders are covered with a cloak that is pleated in the front and reveals three necklaces with little amphorae and charm holders; the plate and lappet earrings that hang down the sides of the face, and a small fibula that clasps the tunic over the neckline. There is an opening in the rear, the function of which has been the subject of numerous interpretations. It was richly polychromatic with red, blue and yellow tones and gold leaf, of which very little remains (*Text National Archaeological Museum).

Foto: Francisco Vives

She is finished with a thin coat of polychromatic stucco. She was depicted wearing a blue under-tunic, a red shawl fitted on a sort of tiara that descends her chest from her left shoulder to the right side of her waist, and an ochre cloak with red trimming. She was decorated with a blue headdress and a rich set of jewellery which, as a representation of the originals, was covered with gold leaf, consisting of coils, some appliqués from her headdress, some lappets from her headdress, three necklaces and a small fibula which fastens the collar of her tunic. (M.P. Luxán and F. Dorrego, CSIC (Spanish National Research Council), and J.L. Prada of the Escuela Superior de Conservación y Restauración de Barcelona (Conservation and Restoration College of Barcelona), 2004).

Her eyes lack pupils and irises. They were presumably added to the piece when it was finished but have not been preserved to the present day.
Despite her naturalism, her pose, her vacant stare and, above all, her attire grant her a very peculiar hieratic appearance.

Foto: Francisco Vives

Specialists date her chronologically somewhere between circa 470 and the beginning of the 4th century BC. This means that the discussion is ongoing and, for the time being, with great leeway, almost a century.

She is a funerary sculpture since it is an urn statue intended to be a container for the ashes of a deceased person, most likely the woman that the sculptor attempted to portray as an idealised figure. This is what she was used for, as evidenced by the remains of phosphorus and calcium from human bones and teeth found in her rear opening, an oval of 18 cm wide and 16 cm deep and 2500 cc in volume (M.P. Luxán, F. Dorrego and J.F. Dorrego, from the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council), and J.L. Prada from the Escuela Superior de Conservación y Restauración de Barcelona (Conservation and Restoration College of Barcelona), 2011).

This piece is of great importance for Spanish culture, not only for being the main example of Iberian Art but also for her unusual history, which began with her immediate sale to the Louvre Museum after she was discovered, her return to Spain during World War II and her use as an icon for political, economic, scientific and popular issues. It was precisely in Paris that the piece was baptised as La Dama de Elche (The Lady of Elche).

The author is unknown.