Description:

Magna Graecia, southern Italy, ca. 6th to 4th century BCE. This is a beige terracotta votive plaque of a goddess from the neck up, with long hair and wide staring eyes. Greek influenced southern Italy during this time was a place of goddess worship during this time period, with Demeter/Ceres, the goddess of the harvest, having a very popular cult. She is the oldest god known from the Roman pantheon, with an inscription found at Falerii dating to 600 BCE. However, many other women both real and mythical played a role in Magna Graecia religion, including priestesses of the Eleusinian mystery cult, a cult of Isis, a cult of Cybele mentioned in the Aeneid, and the women who every year took part in the festival of the Thesmophoria, which was for women only by law and renewed the harvest. This plaque speaks to the importance of women as religious figures, both worshipped and worshipful, in this proto-Roman world. Size: 4-1/2"H x 2-3/4"W x 1-1/2"L (11.4 cm x 7 cm x 3.8 cm).

Provenance: Ex-private H. Berk collection, Chicago, IL

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#110313

  • Condition: The piece has wear as well as some minor staining to the back. The facial features remain visible.

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February 16, 2016 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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