South Italian Figurine: Tortoise
Inv. No.: 86.128
Provenance: South Italy (probably Sicily)
Date: c. 6th/5th century BC
Length: 75mm
Width: 41mm
Gift of an anonymous donor.
A small figurine of a tortoise with four legs, a head and a tail protruding from under its shell. The head slightly twisted to the left and the neck is wrinkled where it is twisted around. The shell is smooth except for a groove several millimetres in from the edge. The clay is orange-buff in colour with some surface incrustation. The surface is scratched and cracked and also has the remains of white decoration.
Function:
A votive offering or perhaps a toy.
Manufacture:
A mould-made figurine with the limbs shaped by hand.
Comparanda:
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), Plates 35, 191-197 (early 5th century Rhodian examples) and 87, 667-668 (early 5th century Attic tortoises); see also Volume 1: Text (1969), 79-80, 178.