Lot 712
Stylish Terra Cotta Head of Athena, or Warrior. Magna Graecia, Tarentum, c. 415-375 BC. Molded in a tan-beige ware, with faint greenish cast, the head rather narrow, and from a figure that was more likely meant to be seen from the profile rather than frontally. The head perhaps that of Athena, or a youthful warrior, wearing a Corinthian helmet pushed up high on the head. The head a separate attachment to a complete figure, or possibly a votive object complete in itself. Some slight rubbing at sides and back, otherwise intact and very fine. Height: 3-1/4"; mounted on lucite base.
Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,500.
While the head could well be Athena, its similarity to other votive statuettes from Tarentum make it more likely a heroic male warrior is intended. Sanctuaries excavated in the heart of the city have yielded thousands of votive figurines. Mostly these were dedicated to Dionysus. Much rarer are those statuettes of male warriors. The cloth or leather cap worn beneath the helmet, and visible at the sides and back, derives from the Persian mitra. By the late 5th century, the combination of a mitra and the pushed back Corinthian helmet had come to be a symbol of military prestige, harking back to the Greek victories over the Persians.
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