Haxhi MEHMETAJ
This unique work, a chance finding, was sent to the British Museum in London, where it still resides, by the English archaeologist Arthur J. Evans, in the second half of the 19th century. The Prizren runner belongs to the end of the VI century or the beginning of the century V BC.
The statue of the girl found in Prizren is among the most beautiful works of fine sculpture art, not only in central Dardania (today’s Kosovo) but in all of the Illyrian Peninsula. This unique work, a chance finding, was sent to the British Museum in London where it still resides, by the English archaeologist Arthur J. Evans, in the second half of the 19th century.
The girl is wearing a long and thin dress (kiton) which reveals a part of the chest, her left breast, and legs up to the knees. Under the dress that is worn fittingly on the body, are outlined the contours of the harmoniously developed muscular body and the narrow waist. The girl is visualized in bronze in a running position, with her head turned to the right, her left leg thrown forward, while the right leg, which weighs on the toes, is bent at the knee.
She has raised her dress up to the knee with her right hand so as not to hinder her in running, while her left hand is bent at the elbow and held at waist height.
A special caring has been dedicated to working the features of the face, straight nose, sensual lips, and full cheeks that suggest health and vitality.The modeling of the hairstyle is another chapter of workmanship, with combed hair which are parted in the middle, tied in braids, and released below the back.
The work of the Prizren statue in the running position, the elegant yet triumphant step, the wandering look of the anxious eyes with which it seems that the girl tracks her competing friends, as well as the dexterous and muscular body, are features of the athlete, respectively of the runner’s pronounced individuality in a running race.So it is not difficult to assume that the artist who made the portrait of the runner has been motivated by the sports games that were organized in antiquity and enjoyed great popularity. Plutarch also talks about their importance.
The appearance of the woman in the running position first appears on the island of Dellos in 550 BC and marks a revolution in sculpture. Dardania’s runner found in Prizren belongs to the end of the VI century or the beginning of the century. V BC.
Translated by Valmir Mehmetaj
