SPAIN (2022)- Iberian Art- 50 Years of Discovery

Numerous archaeological evidence confirms the relevance of Baza in the Iberian period, but perhaps none does so in such a clear and symbolic way as his Lady, a sculpture from the first half of the fourth century BC, found on July 20, 1971 by the team of the archaeologist Francisco José Presedo Velo.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the archaeological find, the Baza City Council has prepared an extensive and varied program (from July 2021 to July 2022) to make this commemoration a memorable event, with the sculpture of the Lady as the main axis. .

The Find

The discovery of the Lady of Baza was a milestone in the knowledge of the ancient Iberian culture. It is a large anthropomorphic cinerary urn, masterfully carved in limestone, which represents an important woman in Iberian society. The features of her face refer to a specific person luxuriously dressed in a tunic and mantle and adorned with jewels of oriental influence. Among them, the large cubic earrings and necklaces with pendants in the form of tabs and amphorillas stand out. She sits on a winged throne with two claw-like front legs. Under the seat of this throne, you can see a hole in which the cremated remains of the deceased were found.

A trousseau made up of luxurious ceramics and four warrior panoplies was also found in the tomb, deposited at its feet as an offering. The use of certain divine symbols, such as the back of the winged chair, reinforces the connection with the divine sphere of this powerful woman, probably recognized by her family group as the founding ancestor of her aristocratic lineage. The type and decoration of the ceramic pieces of the trousseau affect the antiquity of this lineage, reminiscent of the orientalizing world.

The Sculpture

The Lady of Baza is interpreted as the representation of a woman from the aristocracy of the city of Basti (Baza, Granada) heroicized through an outstanding funerary ritual.

Its uniqueness lies in its function as a cinerary urn and in the symbolic elements that accompany it: the winged chair, a symbol of divinity, and the pigeon that it carries in its hand, interpreted as a link between the mortal woman and the acting goddess. protective of both the bird and the bones of the deceased.

The original statue of the Lady of Baza is in the National Archaeological Museum. In the Municipal Archaeological Museum of Baza there is a replica of it in one of the two rooms dedicated to the Iberian era of the city.

The stamp includes an image of the recently discovered sculpture (black and white image) and a more current one.