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LOT 0531
Hellenistic Terracotta Head of the Goddess Demeter
CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
3 in. (74 grams total, 78 mm high).
Hollow-formed and with rounded facial features; wavy hair with central partition, dressed with a tall diadem. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection.
Acquired Spink, York, UK, 2009.
Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.
Cf. Capano, A., 'Il culto di Demetra nella Lucania antica,' in Basilicata Regione. Notizie, 2017, pp.128-151, fig.23, votive head from San Chirico Nuovo.
FootnotesThe head is probably from a cult statuette of Demeter. Statuettes of the goddess, seated or standing, or even busts, are well documented in the south of Italy, both among the Greek colonists and the local populations; many have been excavated from regional sanctuaries.
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