Fragmentary apex of a gable decorated with a female mask in relief - ROM2010_11485_24

ROM2010_11485_24

Fragmentary apex of a gable decorated with a female mask in relief

Medium:Earthenware with polychrome slip paint
Geography: Central Etruria, Italy
Date: about 400 BC
Period: Etruscan
Dimensions:
16 x 25.5 x 15.5 cm
Object number: 959.17.57
On view
Gallery Location:Eaton Gallery of Rome - Bratty Exhibit of Etruria
DescriptionThe small size of this painted architectural fragment indicates that it came from a model of a temple or a house, perhaps connected with an ancestral cult. The attached female mask may have had an apotropaic or evil averting function. In Etruria, temples were decorated with Gorgoneion masks and domestic dwellings with an ancestral mask to ward off evil.
Cataloguer: Dr. John W. Hayes (ROM Staff, 1968-1992)
Collection:
Greek World
Department: World Cultures: Greek and Roman
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