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Antefix

Italic, Etruscan
Etrusco-Roman
6th century B.C.

Medium/Technique Terracotta
Dimensions Height x width: 20.6 x 19.5 cm (8 1/8 x 7 11/16 in.); Legacy dimension: 0.206 H. 0.195 W.
Credit Line Benjamin Pierce Cheney Donation
Accession Number89.30
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsArchitectural elements

DescriptionA grotesque head with long, drooping red moustaches, large and deep flat circular beard painted dull purple, and a helmet-like covering on the head.

Gash over right eye. Coloring well preserved. Semicircular support somewhat broken.
ProvenanceJune or July 1888, discovered on the banks of the Tiber, Rome, opposite the Isola Tiberna on the Trastevere side and acquired by Rodolfo Lanciani, Rome (said by Lanciani to have been found near the banks of the Tiber, on the Trastevere side, opposite the Island of Aesculapius [Isola di s. Bartolomeo]); purchased by MFA from R. Lanciani, January, 1889, for $493.92 (this figure is the total price of MFA 88.538–88.644 and 89.9–89.31)