The ''Lady of Baza'' (''la Dama de Baza'') is a famous example of

Iberian sculpture Iberian sculpture, a subset of Iberian art, describes the various sculptural styles developed by the Iberians from the Bronze Age up to the Roman conquest. For this reason it is sometimes described as Pre-Roman Iberian sculpture. Almost all ext ...

by the

Bastetani The Bastetani or Bastuli were an ancient Iberian (pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language. The relationship between the Iberian Bastetani and the Tartessian Mastieni ...

. It is a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

female figure with traces of painted detail in a stuccoed surface that was found on July 22, 1971, by Francisco José Presedo Velo, at Baza, in the

Altiplano de Granada The Altiplano de Granada (Granada High Plains) is a spectrum of landscapes located in the northern part of the Granada province in southern Spain. Administratively it is made up of two municipal territories: Baza and Huéscar. Topography The al ...

, the high tableland in the northeast of the

province of Granada Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropical). ...

. The town of Baza was the site of the Ibero-Roman city of Basti and, in one of its two necropoleis, the Cerro del Santuario, the Lady of Baza was recovered. She is seated in an armchair, and an open space on the side is thought to have contained ashes from a

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...

.Analyses of the sculpture were published by F. Presedo in "La necrópolis de Baza" (Madrid) 1982 pp 317-19 and plate, and by A. García y Bellido, ''Arte Ibérico en España'' (Madrid 1980) pp 52-56. The sculpture's name links it in the popular imagination to its more famous cousin, the ''

Lady of Elche The ''Lady of Elche'' (in Spanish, ''Dama de Elche'' in Valencian, ''Dama d'Elx'') is a limestone bust that was discovered in 1897, at ''La Alcudia'', an archaeological site on a private estate two kilometers south of Elche, Spain. It is curren ...

''. After conservation, the sculpture, which dates to the fourth century BCE, joined the enigmatic Lady of Elche deposited in the

National Archaeological Museum of Spain The National Archaeological Museum ( es, Museo Arqueológico Nacional; MAN) is a museum in Madrid, Spain. It is located on Calle de Serrano beside the Plaza de Colón, sharing its building with the National Library of Spain. History The museu ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. The

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

'' Bicha of Balazote'' and the standing Gran Dama Oferente, also called ''Dama del Cerro de los Santos'', are exhibited in the same room of the museum.

References

External links

Illustration of the Lady of BazaArticle
at Enciclopedia Libre {{Iberian sculpture 4th-century BC sculptures Province of Granada Iberian art Collection of the National Archaeological Museum, Madrid Sculptures of women Sculptures in Madrid Phoenician sculpture