Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Head of a Helmeted Man
£ 700.00
A fine, Romano-Egyptian terracotta fragment, portraying the head of a male figure, modelled in the round. He is depicted with a neutral expression, wearing a phrygian helmet. Two cheek guards, hanging from the helmet, frame the figure’s face, with two curved brows, leading towards a nasal, completing the composition at the top. The helmet continued upwards, creating a conical shape, though the top has now fragmented off. He has been rendered naturalistically, with attention paid to his almond shaped eyes, prominent, straight nose, and lips. The piece would once have been part of a larger statue or composition depicting a warrior or potentially a god, such as Mars. The pointed shape of the helmet may indicate the helmet to be of the Phrygian type or a pseudo-Corinthian helmet.
The fragment has been mounted on a custom-made stand. Please note that the measurements provided below are including the stand. The fragment measures 6.5cm in length, 4.3cm in width, and 9.4cm in height.
Date: Circa 1st Century BC-2nd Century AD
Condition: Very fine condition. Earthly encrustations to the surface. The head has been fragmented at the neck and to the top of the helmet. Signs of wear as consistent with age, such as some further chipping, surface roughness, and scratches.
Terracotta figurines were a common sculpture type found in Romano-Egyptian art. They vary from simple crude figures to finely rendered creations. Although present in a variety of different circumstances, a common usage was as a votive offering in funerary and sanctuary contexts. In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans typically made votive offerings to mark important life transitions. Votive offerings often fulfilled obligations that individuals had made while praying. Terracotta figures were cheap to make and easily replicable, making them well suited for this purpose. Unlike sacrifices, in which a gift to the gods was destroyed, offerings were typically deposited intact in the temples. One of the primary functions of Greek and Roman temples was as a storage place for these offerings. The temples themselves were a votive offering, dedicated by the community as a whole to a particular god or goddess.
To discover more about how terracotta statuettes were made, please visit our relevant post: The Making of Terracotta Statuettes in Antiquity.
