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Terracotta head of a woman, probably a sphinx

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Eros, God of Love

Eros, God of Love
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Terracotta head of a woman, probably a sphinx

Period:
Archaic
Date:
1st quarter of the 5th century B.C.
Culture:
Greek
Medium:
Terracotta
Dimensions:
H. 8 1/8 in. (20.7 cm)
Classification:
Terracottas
Credit Line:
Rogers Fund, 1947
Accession Number:
47.100.3

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 157

  • Description

    Terracotta sculpture of large scale and high quality is rare in Greek art of the mainland as against that of southern Italy, for example. The proportions and the break at the neck suggest that this exceptionally fine head belonged to a sphinx, possibly the akroterion of a small building. (Akroteria decorated the apex and corners of roofs.) Of particular interest also is the way polychromy is used for such details as the earrings and the headband.

  • Provenance

    Said to have been found near Olympia (Richter 1948, p.152).

    Until 1947, collection of Joseph Brummer; acquired July 11, 1947, purchased from the estate of Joseph Brummer.

  • References

    Richter, Gisela M. A. 1948. "A Greek Terracotta Head of the Late Archaic Period." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 6(5): pp. 150-53.

    Richter, G. M. A. 1948. "A Greek Terracotta Head and the 'Corinthian' School of Terracotta Sculpture." American Journal of Archaeology 52 (July-September): 331-35, pls. XXXII, XXXIII.

    Richter, G. M. A. 1949. Archaic Greek Art. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 190-91, fig. 297.

    Forsyth, W. H. 1974. "Acquisitions from the Brummer Gallery." In The Grand Gallery at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 4.

    Billot, M.-F. 1977. "Recherches sur le sphinx du Louvre CA 637." Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 101: 384-85.

    Walter-Karydi, E. 1987. Die äginetische Bildhauerschule: Werke und schriftliche Quellen. Mainz: P. von Zabern, pp. 116, 118, figs. 191-93.

    Picón, C. A., et al. 2007. Art of the Classical World in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 425, no. 103, ill. p. 97.

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