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Greek Terracotta Protome Mask Greek Terracotta Protome Mask Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
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Details

LOT 0513

Greek Terracotta Protome Mask

LATE 6TH-EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.

5 1/8 in. (142 grams, 13 cm).

Modelled as a female head with rounded oval face, slightly bulging eyes and pronounced chin, indistinct smiling mouth with thin lips, outline of ears; low straight polos with fastening hole. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Acquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.

Literature

Cf. Van Rooijen, G., Goddesses of Akragas, a study of terracotta votive figurines from Sicily, Leiden, 2021, no.96, for similar.

Footnotes

The figure belongs to a common type known from mainland Greece and the islands. The head clearly shows the so-called 'Archaic smile' visible on the dedicatory protomes of the same typology. They were terracotta votive offerings attached with a nail to the shrine of a goddess for ex-voto or to receive the grace of the represented goddess (Demeter?).

CONDITION
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LOT 0513

Greek Terracotta Protome Mask

Sold for (Inc. bp): £156

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