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Votive (Gift) in the Shape of a Woman's Head

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

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  • A work made of terracotta, pigment.

Date:

about 500 BCE

Artist:

Etruscan; possibly Veii

About this artwork

Supplicants placed votive heads in temples to accompany requests and offerings of thanks to the gods. Artisans used molds to produce images of both men and women. On finer examples, such as this head, a pointed tool was used to refine elements of the face and hair before the object was fired in the kiln. Traces of pigment suggest that the hair was originally painted bright red. Earrings once hung from holes in the ears.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Etruscan

Title

Votive (Gift) in the Shape of a Woman's Head

Place

Veio (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.

500 BCE

Medium

terracotta, pigment

Dimensions

26.5 × 22 × 18 cm (10 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 7 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund

Reference Number

1975.342

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/48978/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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