The Kore of Thira sculpture has been put on public display for the first time ever at a temporary exhibition at the under-construction Museum of Thira on the Greek island of Santorini.
The exquisite female statue of the 7th century BC was first discovered 22 years ago in the Sellada cemetery on Santorini by archaeologist, Charalambos Sigalas, but it was kept in storage since then due to a lack of display space.
The Daedalic-style Kore is 2.48 metres tall, made of white Naxos marble and is mostly intact. Only the tip of the nose and the arm of the right hand are missing.
The temporary exhibition where the Kore of Thira will be displayed was inaugurated over the weekend in the presence of Greece’s Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
During the inauguration ceremony, Ms Mendoni promised that the museum renovation project was a top priority for her Ministry.
“We will facilitate this process in every way to ensure the thoroughness of the operation and to return the treasures kept in the Archaeological Museum as soon as possible to the people of Thira and to the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the island,” Ms Mendoni said.
For her part, President Sakellaropoulou congratulated the Ephorate of Cyclades, the Culture Ministry and the local municipality for their hard work in delivering a museum to the public.
After the inauguration ceremony, President Sakellaropoulou was also given a tour of the exhibits and murals at the Museum of Prehistoric Thira by the head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, Dimitris Athanasoulis.
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Source: Greek Culture Ministry.
