Terracotta busts like this were left in sanctuaries to the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone (also known as Kore) in Sicily around the middle of the fifth century BCE. The bust is from a worn and mended mould, so it was probably inexpensive.
According to myth, mother and daughter were separated when Hades, the god of the Underworld, abducted the virgin Persephone. While her mother Demeter searched for her, the crops withered and the season turned to perpetual winter. Hades was finally persuaded to part with Persephone for half of every year, heralding the spring and summer seasons when crops flourished again.
The cult of Demeter and Persephone was not only linked to agricultural fertility but also to female rites such as marriage and childbirth.
