Boeotian Plank Idol of a Goddess Greek, Boeotian, 6th century B.C. Terracotta 25,5 cm height. Condition: Very Good, see photos. Provenance: Private collection, Roubaix, France, 1970s. Large handmade plank idol with a flat body, which merges into an oval base ring downward and upward into a sculptural head with a face formed from a matrix. The face with archaic features, large circular and elongated earrings. It presents the classic archaic smile. The goddess wears a high, cupped pole with a semicircular beak-like protuberance. The short arms are stretched laterally and slightly bent forward. Idols like the present one possibly represent goddesses (Demeter, Hera?). Because of the headdress, they are also called Papades. The terracotta female idols of the ancient Boeotian culture are one of the most fascinating manifestations of the religious and cultural art of archaic Greece, especially between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. These statuettes, generally of small size, represent female figures and were created mainly for ritual purposes. Their design is highly stylized, with geometrically shaped bodies and simplified facial features. They were often attributed with a connection to fertility, motherhood and protection, fundamental concepts in Boeotian society. Many of these figures were found in funerary contexts and shrines, suggesting their role in religious ceremonies linked to life and death, as well as in cult practices to goddesses such as Demeter or Persephone. It is believed that these statuettes served as offerings to ensure divine protection, soil fertility or the welfare of women and children. The repetition of their shape and the number of specimens found indicate that these figures were not only symbolic in character, but were also an integral part of everyday beliefs, connecting the divine with the human in the religious life of Boeotia.