As discussed above, the figurines were usually intended
to be seen as seated. It is therefore not surprising that the chair, bench or throne stresses this seated pose.
603 On the reverse of the Taleides amphora from Akragas, dated 540-530 BCE, a scene with a large scale and packed goods indicates
trade and transport.
604 Bintliff interprets the shift from the rich grave goods to cultic
dedications as a social and political change for the polis of Azoria,
The different sorts of chairs will be discussed here and
compared with other representations and real objects.
There are several examples of figurines that are clearly
seated, with a block-shaped seat clearly visible from
the side. With some figurines, the seat is not specifically indicated (71, 75). Other features make clear that the East
Greek model, for example 72, might have inspired this seat shape.605 Such a simple block is not very common
and only on one figurine, 21, is it visible from the front.
Another exceptional, rather block-shaped chair with
round armrests is visible on figurines and mould 31‑32.606
Armrests are rare on the chairs of Akragantine figurines.
II.7.a From bench to throne
If the chair had to be made explicit, the coroplasts opted
for a large, finely modelled version, as if to express the importance of the figure seated upon it. The object was also
physically enlarged by the addition of the chair, varying
from a small bench (22) to wider versions (36). They consist of a seat and frontal part that slopes inwards (23) often curving elegantly (25). The increased width makes the object as a whole more substantial (27). The wide bench, as
well as other seats, are usually not straight but placed at
an angle. The older figurines usually have a steeply sloping seat (37), while the later ones are less steep and straighter. The figurine appears to lean against the steep seats rather than sitting (30). The slope of the body coincides with the
slope of the seat. The angle of the bent body is repeated by the angle of the bench. This pattern of geometrical forms and symmetry is aesthetic and creates a balanced form that leads the attention to the more detailed head.
Some of these benches curve up at the sides, creating
a hollow seat. Examples of these are mostly figurines with
a simple body, for example, 27 and 28. A simultaneous step in the development of this bench is the high-winged
back or ‘ears’ that form the backrest of the chair, visible
by small rim features with semi-circular extensions on top. These parts sometimes protrude halfway along the back or at the height of the shoulders, and are sometimes
decorated with a disc repeating the form of the fibulae (39). When placed lower, they create a triangular outline on the upper part of the figurine (48). The aesthetic form of
the bench in itself seems to have been appreciated, such as the curving ending and the wide back of 34. The addition
of a cushion is a next step (34). All of these variations of the
bench are mainly common in group 1, and often hardly
605 Standing, for example with a flaring lower part or a wider base
as with 77, 82, 83, 84 – 85, 92 and 93 would have been an option
as well, but the seated version seems to be preferred or the first
known option. The seated version is much more stable with its larger base.
606 There are no figurines with this sort of chair from Akragas and the
mould might come from somewhere else.
visible in group 2,for example, 100, when the height of the
figurine is stressed often by a standing position. In group 3,
there is a return to the bench, without backrest, but with a cushion on it usually reaching close to the edges of the seat
at the front and back (109) or even completely covering the seat (135). The cushion is mattress-shaped and rounded at the corners. Sicilian figurines can be recognised by their sloping body and the chair with pillow. One example is a figurine in the Metropolitan Museum thought to be from Soli, Cyprus, which was probably made with a mould from
Sicily. Her pillow partly overlaps the front of the chair, while usually it remains on top. The model of the chair with its widening shape and sloping seat is also common in Akragas.607
The wide benches and winged back were often handmade and the sides are therefore not always equal or placed at the same height. As this also meant additional
work for the coroplast there are variations of figurines
from the same mould series both with and without a chair: for example, 118 and АТ 3392 (713) from the Pushkin Museum, Moscow (Catalogue fig. 14). The latter was made
with attention to detail; the seat has curved sides and the lower part of the front is worked by hand with small lines depicting a lion paw.
In the last group of Akragantine figurines, we can truly speak of an enthroned figure. The chair has been very elaborately and detailed rendered with clearly defined
chair legs. The animal-like shape of the leg, with a knee in the middle, and a thicker part at its base, like a hoof,
could be imitating a horse leg (194). The construction with
a horizontal stretcher at the front is made clear by the bas-
relief on the figurine. On another part of a figurine (197),
the decoration with a lion protome is represented, holding a ring in his mouth fastened with a high number of thin
cords to the leg of the throne (197). The detail is striking.
II.7.a.i The footstool
In addition to the throne, a footstool is also commonly depicted. In its development, it follows the same steps as the chair, from very simple to detailed and elaborate. It
might have functioned at first simply to increase stability, as it protrudes to the front it would prevent the figurine
from toppling over. Sometimes it is not clear whether the feet or a footstool is indicated by the protruding part at
the front (11). The footstool in the first three groups was
usually part of the base, closed on the sides and lacking
other details (100, 102 and 150). It sometimes retains
the width of the body, but varies in height, for example,
607 Both technical and iconographic details make clear that it is probably not from Akragas. Inv. no.74.51.1587 Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York. See museum website: https://www. metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/241143.
141.608 The base or footstool may look unrealistically high
(144). Only a few examples show a footstool with legs and a stretcher, vertically and horizontal (171, 173-174). From group 4 onwards, this becomes the standard, fitting
with the detailed throne. The legs of the footstool are decorated with semi-circular forms on 195‑196; a stretcher is analogous to the model of throne. Its legs, though hard to see might well imitate the bent legs of an animal and its hoofs. The footstool has thus become not only a place for the feet, but increasingly presents the chair as a real throne, as the seated person would be completely lifted from ground level.
It is possible that the furniture depicted represents real footstools, as they have been found at the Malophoros sanctuary at Selinous. The footstools, sometimes made
from volcanic tufa, measure about 20-25cm high and about 45-50cm wide, and are thus life-size.609 They have different shapes, such as rounded legs or lion paws, but some are
also straight-legged and decorated with hatches. On an Akragantine krater, Zeus is depicted seated on a finely
worked stool with a simple solid footstool and pearl-rim decoration.610 Footstools are common in depictions on Greek vases and monuments, as well as on the Locrian pinakes.611 Feline paws are known from footstools as well.612