South Italian Figurine: Head of Goddess

Inv. No.: 73.001
Provenance: South Italy
Date: 5th century BC
Height: 125mm
Width: 78mm
 
The head of a goddess wearing a stephane and a veil at the back. Three rows of curls, carefully modelled using small balls of clay, appear below the stephane. The ears are visible and the Archaic style features (eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, nose and slightly smiling mouth) are clearly defined. The head finishes with a slight moulding at the base of the neck suggesting that it was made as a separate piece, not as part of a larger figure. The head resembles Sicilian female protomes, but this piece is moulded at the back, not flat. The coarse clay is buff-coloured. There are chips missing from the stephane, tip of the nose and the left cheek.

Function:
Probably used for votive purposes.

Manufacture:
A mould-made head.

Bibliography:
Greek and Roman Terracotta Sculpture, Charles Ede Catalogue, 28 (1973), 21 a.

Kanowski, M.G., The Antiquities Collection, catalogue, Department of Classics and Ancient History, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 1978, 49.

Uhlenbrock, J. P., The Terracotta Protomai from Gela: A Discussion of Local Style in Archaic Sicily, Rome, "Lrma" di Bretschneider, 1988.

Comparanda:
Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, London, Ward Lock, 1974, Fig. 49 (female protomes from Sicily, 5^th century BC).

Higgins, R. A., Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, second edition, London, British Museum, 1970, I (Plates), Plate 154 (female heads and protomes from Sicily); see also Volume 1: Text (1969), 307-308.

Orlandini, P., "Gela: La Stipe Votiva Arcaica del Predio Sola", Monumenti Antichi, XLVI (1963), Plates I-V (similar style heads from Gela).

Uhlenbrock, J. P., The Terracotta Protomai from Gela: A Discussion of Local Style in Archaic Sicily, Rome, "Lrma" di Bretschneider, 1988, Plate 5 a and b (protomes).