Terracotta Painted Gorgoneion Antefix

Culture: Greek

Period: around 500 B.C.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 18.4 cm x 20.1 cm

Price: Sold

Ref: 2476

Provenance: Collection Dr. A. L., Switzerland, acquired in 1970. Thence private collection Geneva. Last in the German private collection Sigrid Fiebig, Bad Herrenalb, acquired on 15 February 2018. With the original invoice and certificate of the Austrian gallery.

Condition: With beautiful color remains. Intact.

Description: Expressive, semi-circular antefix of light, yellowish clay with the head of a Gorgon. The blown cheeks and the wide-open mouth with large canines and a deep dark red tongue hanging out are still reminiscent of the early archaic predecessors with their frightening effect. However, this beardless antefix is clearly more friendly. The serpents curling in snail-form above the head and slightly coiled below it without being connected to the round head. The almond-shaped eyes with round pupils looking rather vigilant than menacing and the tightly set, red spiral curls on the head and the protruding ears appear almost clownesque. These modifications are the first steps towards the humanization of the Gorgon, which finally finds its conclusion in the Hellenistic period. Possibly from Tarentum. See for the type the antefix in the Landesmuseum Wuerttemberg with the inventory number Arch 49/9, as well as the example in the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in New York with the Accession Number 39.11.9. Mounted.