AN ETRUSCAN TERRACOTTA CYMA SPOUT

CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

AN ETRUSCAN TERRACOTTA CYMA SPOUT
CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.
In the form of a ketos, the sea monster hollow, open through the mouth from the back of the head, hand-modelled, with a long ridged snout, the bulging eyes under heavy furrowed brows and high equine ears, flat on the underside, preserving a single lead attachment point at the back
13¼ in. (33.7 cm.) long

Provenance

with Jean Mikas, Paris, 1950s.
European Private Collection.

Lot Essay

Representations of the ketos came to incorporate the characteristics of crocodiles and sea horses. Like the Gorgoneion, the ketos gained decorative value, "though probably always with an element of the horrific (p. 735 in Boardman, "Ketos" in LIMC, vol. VIII, 1)."

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