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Architectural Relief Depicting the Gigantomachy (Battle Between Gods and Giants)

A work made of terracotta, pigment.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of terracotta, pigment.

Date:

3rd-2nd century BCE

Artist:

Etruscan

About this artwork

As the name suggests, the Gigantomachy was the struggle between and the Giants and the Olympian gods, who were led by Zeus. In flowing robes, a god and goddess capture a Giant, depicted with wings and serpent-like features, to deliver the final blow in this epic battle. These three animated figures were probably once part of a series of ornamental covers called antefixes, which were placed along the lowest row of roof tiles on a small building, probably a temple. Etruscans often decorated their buildings with brightly colored sculptural compositions based on Greek mythology.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Etruscan

Title

Architectural Relief Depicting the Gigantomachy (Battle Between Gods and Giants)

Place

Etruria (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

300 BCE–101 BCE

Medium

terracotta, pigment

Dimensions

45.8 × 46 × 21.9 cm (18 1/16 × 18 1/8 × 8 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund

Reference Number

1984.2

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/111030/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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