Etruscan painted terracotta satyr antefix

M13

£1,500.00

Available

A moulded terracotta architectural antefix decorated with a facing head of a satyr, probably Silenus. The satyr is depicted as a balding man with pointed ears and flowing beard, his mouth open in a fierce grimace. The surface retains traces of red, white and blue painted detailing.

Antefixes were decorative elements, placed at the end of a building roofline to cover and conceal the edges of terracotta roof tiles. Their symbolism was often apotropaic: to ward off evil spirits and avert bad luck.

Culture
Etruscan, 4th Century BC; possibly from Falerii Veteres (Lazio)

Size
16.6 x 17.3 cms, 24 cms deep

Condition
Fragment as shown

Provenance
With Faustus Fine Art (London), 1992, thence private collection, USA. With Christies, Fine Antiquities, London, 6th October 2011, lot 104 (illustrated in catalogue); thence private collection, UK.

For a similar example in the Villa Giulia Etruscan Museum, Rome, please see:
https://www.mediastorehouse.com/fine-art-finder/artists/walter-limot/antefix-head-silenus-falerii-veteres-40697490.html

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