Proportions of Korai

Computer executed statistical techniques have been used to assist in the analysis of the proportions of twenty-six archaic Greek korai. The korai have been compared with one another, with published data for women and men, with both draped and nude kouroi, with Cypriot draped figures, with an Assyrian statue and with examples of the Egyptian canons for both female and male figures. Conclusions have been reached concerning pairs of similar statues, and the relationship between korai and the comparative material. Perhaps the single most noteworthy conclusion concerns the compelling similarity in proportions among the "Nikandre," the New York kouros and the Egyptian second canon for male figures. The significance of this similarity lies in the fact that "Nikandre" is generally considered to be the earliest of all extant monumental archaic Greek stone sculptures in the round. The similarity of her proportions to those of the contemporary Egyptian canon suggests that at least one of the earliest Greek sculptors was cognizant of the Egyptian method for proportioning sculptured figures

Art · Biology · Canon · Evolutionary biology · Extant taxon · Literature · Sculpture · Similarity (geometry) · Statue · Visual arts · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Ancient Near East History · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · History