There are a sufficient number of objects and works of antiquity that are on the verge of understanding how this could have been done in those distant times? Many works now will be very difficult to reproduce technologically. Some of them are modern fakes, while others are in constant controversy over their possible origin.
Such a statue of a beautiful lady was discovered in 1897 near the city of Elche. It is completely incomprehensible how people managed to create such a perfect work of art in the 4th century BC. But some argue that some kind of device is clearly located on the head of the statue.
The sculpture was found on 4 August 1897 by a young worker, Manuel Campello Esclapez.
A few weeks after the discovery of the artifact, its owners invited the French archaeologist Pierre Paris to inspect it, who recognized its historical authenticity and notified the Louvre of the urgent need to acquire the most valuable monument. As a result, the sculpture was sold to France for a very significant sum of 4,000 francs at that time and taken to Paris, where its demonstration made a tremendous sensation and opened for scientists a hitherto unknown page of ancient art.
The statue dates back to the 4th century BC. e., is a stone polychrome bust of a woman (the latter is controversial), (in the Spanish version of Wikipedia there is an indication that there are remains of paint on the lips, etc. for them this is not controversial) in a rich headdress and with an unusually complex hairstyle. The hole in the back indicates that the object could have been used as a burial urn (in the Spanish version of Wikipedia there is a mention of the study of the remains of the burial, which refuted the versions of forgery, since these remains correspond to the alleged period of time).
Promotional video:
"A rather subtle understanding of the canons of Hellenistic sculpture allowed some researchers to assume that the sculptor was trained in one of the Greek colonies of the Western Mediterranean" - says Wikipedia, the Spanish version says that the Lady of Elche was found in a place that was previously, as archaeologists testify, was almost surrounded by a river, and this islet was a Greek colony, if I translated that text correctly … "According to another point of view, the principles of Punic art are reflected in the monument, and the woman depicted is none other than the Phoenician goddess Astarte," Wikipedia reports.
In 1995, it was hypothesized that the Lady of Elche is a fake, influenced by Art Nouveau around the time it was discovered. However, this theory has not gained general acceptance. A 2005 technical analysis of the coating, stone and pigment remains of the statue revealed an ancient date and correspondence with other famous Iberian sculptures.
In 2005, the analysis of polychrome particles showed that the age of the pigments and the structure of the primer layers correspond to the originally assumed age of the sculpture - IV century BC. In 2011, the same author, Maria Pilar Luxan, analyzed the hollow microparticles of the back of the sculpture, electron microscopy and spectrometry determined that the ash particles of human bones belong to the Iberian period, leading to the conclusion that the statue was used as a burial urn in the Iberian period and confirms its antiquity.
In Spain, a poll-vote was conducted among the population; it was proposed to name the most beautiful woman who could serve as the standard of beauty. Most of the votes were cast by the Lady of Elche.
buried in front of the Lady, burnt armor, weapons and other items that could belong to a war with a high social status were found, analysis of the remains showed that the warrior was a woman.
There are also indications that the buried warrior was deified, it could be the queen-priestess (literally the word "witch" is used
It is known that the witch-war queen's tunic was dyed blue.
Reconstruction of jewelry:
In the classic textbook of Nikolai Alexandrovich Mashkin "History of Ancient Rome", this remarkable monument clearly refers to the pre-Punic and pre-Roman period of the history of ancient Spain.
Also see A. L. Mongait “Archeology of Western Europe. Bronze and Iron Age - I quote:
“Based on written sources and images on numerous painted vessels, we can imagine the appearance and way of life of the Iberians. They were dark-haired. Iberian coins depict heads with curly, curly hair. Their clothing (influenced by Greek and Phoenician fashions) consisted of a tunic tied at the waist with a belt, a wide cloak, and leather or cane sandals. Horsemen and warriors wore high leather boots.
Clothing fabrics are often embroidered or decorated with appliqués.
The Iberian women were very fond of jewelry. Preference was given to pretentious, "baroque" forms.
Women wore elaborate high hairstyles and headdresses in the form of a turban, a conical tiara, a diadem, a braided ribbon, etc. A particularly elaborate and rich diadem is depicted in the famous "Lady of Elche": huge lateral discs of the diadem, in which, apparently, they were removed braids made of metal and ornamented.
Earrings are large and round, disc-shaped, long - in the form of a falling tear, as a rule, ornamented. Bracelets and bracers of the simplest forms. The Iberians, like the Celts, wore torques, usually made of coiled wire. Necklaces are very diverse - these are multi-colored ribbons with round pendants, sets of ribbed polychrome beads made of glass paste and spherical metal beads, etc. Decorations of belt buckles and brooches are also varied. The most common are the so-called Spanish ring-shaped brooches. They consist of a ring, a rod and a needle. Most of the specimens are in the simplest form. However, in some cases it is enriched with many additional details and silver inlay. In the Celtic-Iberian regions there are brooches decorated with images of horses.
(….)
The art of the Iberians undoubtedly developed under the influence of the art of Greece and the East, but its local foundations are very strong, and we can talk about its independent emergence in the 5th century. BC e. 117 Attempts to create periodization based on purely art historical analysis were unsuccessful, since Iberian art retains for a long time archaic features (frontality, rigidity) and schematism of images. Garcia Bellido proposed the following periodization: I - period - Greek provincial (V-III centuries BC); II - fully developed local style (end of III-I centuries BC); III - Roman provincial (1st century BC - IV century AD) 118. Archaeological discoveries in recent years and further study of Iberian art have shown that this chronological scheme is very controversial. Moreover, it becomes more and more clearthat the Iberian art was not uniform, in different areas significant differences persisted in the ratio of local and borrowed features.
Large sculpture is found only in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. A large group of zoomorphic sculptures of the 5th-4th centuries are known here. BC e.: lions, bears, wolves, bulls, as well as sphinxes and animals with human heads. There is a strong oriental influence in many of the details of these images, and some even have direct prototypes in Syrian and Hittite art. The most ancient (550-450 BC) sculptures of this group are the so-called scourge from Balasote (Albacete province), representing a seated bull with a human bearded face, and a sphinx with a woman's face (also from Albacete)
Sculptures depicting humans are more realistic than animal figures. The Greek influence is stronger here, and some of them are probably made in the Greek colonies. Local works are very numerous - only about 300 were found in the Sierra de los Santos sanctuary. They retain their archaic character until the Roman conquest.
The already mentioned so-called "Lady of Elche" is considered a masterpiece of Iberian art. This is a female bust made of limestone with traces of polychromy, 0.54 m high (that is, approximately the size of nature). The sculpture combines realistic elements with the solemnity and splendor of the image. The beauty of the face is enhanced by the luxury of hair and jewelry. The sculpture is obviously a portrait of some rich woman. It is undoubtedly a Spanish piece, although it has a classical Greek influence. The bust seems to date from the 5th century. BC e. However, in the literature there is another date - III century. BC BC, based on the fact that it was found together with Iberian pottery of this time.
The figure of a priestess from the Sierra de los Santos (Gran Dama d'El-Cerro) is also famous. She presents a statue (1.35 m high) depicting a full-length woman with a cup in her hands. By the luxury of the dress and the hairstyle decorated with a diadem, she is close to the "Lady from Elche".