Etruscan Terracotta Antefix / Relief of Gorgon

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DAY 1 | Classical Antiquities & Asian Art

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 5, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-12-05 10:00:00 2018-12-05 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : DAY 1 | Classical Antiquities & Asian Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/day-1-classical-antiquities-asian-art-3698
Day 1 of an important 2-day auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Viking, Near Eastern plus Asian Art from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, India, more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Etruria, Northern Italy, ca. 6th century BCE. A wonderful pottery relief - perhaps belonging to an antefix - depicting the head of a gorgon, wreathed with snakes, her mouth agape with its tongue sticking out. Traces of polychrome decoration - in particular green and white pigment - remain. The presence of the gorgon speaks to the Classical world of mythology; the concept of the gorgon, a frightening, beast-like, female creature, is at least as old as Homer and continued to be used as a monstrous symbol throughout the Etruscan and Roman period. Size: 7.375" W x 6.5" H (18.7 cm x 16.5 cm)
  
  Greek and Etruscan edifices typically included roof tiles that ran along the eaves and oftentimes terminated in upright members called antefixes. Such mold-made terracotta antefixes usually took the form of heads, either of humans or mythological creatures like this example. In addition to serving a decorative purpose, these architectural terracottas also covered and protected any exposed wooden sections of the building from the elements. This example, of a rounded shape, depicts a marvelous frontal head of a Gorgon, one of three mythological sisters of the ancient Greek world whose hideous visages embodied the most horrifying aspects of death and the supernatural, with wide open eyes, a pointy protruding nose, a disturbing toothy smile, large ears, a clefted chin, all surrounded by a serpentine wreath. Known for their potent gazes that could turn one to stone, Gorgons were favored as architectural ornaments because it was believed that they would protect those within. Perhaps the most famous image of a Gorgon is featured upon the pediment of the temple at Corfu, the oldest known pediment in Greece, preceding this example by only sixty years! Here we have an exquisite published example.
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Wassem Alteir collection
  
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  #140545

  Condition

  Expected surface wear commensurate with age. Losses to peripheries and high-pointed areas. Still imagery is discernible and there are nice remains of green and white pigment on the surface. Scattered mineral deposits as well.
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