7590. AN IMPORTANT GREEK TERRA COTTA ANTEFIX OF FINE CLASSICAL STYLE, c. 5th Century BC. The Greek city of Taras (Latin Tarentum) located on the inner Southern coast of Italy's heel was founded circa 708 BC by the Spartans. The most important Greek city in Southern Italy during the 5th and 4th centuries BC, it finally surrendered to the Romans in 272 BC. Taras was famous for its fine art including its famous series of silver coins depicting a naked boy riding a dolphin. This beautifully modeled antefix would have ornamented the roof edge of an important building hinting at the beauty of the city in classical times.
This wonderful antefix is an important example of the finest classical Greek art. The nobility and beauty of the features, with their sensuous, intelligent air seem to gaze at us across the centuries, revealing a glimpse of the source of the finest in Western Civilization. The piece depicts a beautiful young woman wearing a fine necklace and earrings and a head band to which are attached cow ears and horns. She may be a participant in a festival dedicated to a local river god who was depicted as a bull with a man's head, or she may be Io, a maiden loved by Zeus, who was transformed by Hera into a heifer. Comes with custom walnut stand. Dimensions: 20.8 x 18.3 x 7.6 cm. (8.2 x 7.2 x 3.0"). Weight: ~1 kg. (~2.5 lb.). Composition: Hard fired light yellow brown terra cotta. References: Catalogue of The British Museum Collection, #1329, 1330 for a nearly identical example also from Taras (photocopy included). Provenance: An old Toronto collection.