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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Gallery Text

Attached to a tile, this mask of Silenos would originally have peered down from the edge of a roof. Such antefixes were common in Greek temple decoration, which was often executed in painted terracotta in the Greek cities of South Italy and Sicily. Like the satyrs depicted on the large mixing bowl for wine and water (1960.236), the silens were mythical companions of Dionysos, characterized by their thirst for wine. Old Silenos was the father of the satyrs. Despite his startling appearance, with a furrowed face, bulbous nose, and equine ears, he was thought to be a creature full of wisdom and skilled in music, and his representation may have hinted at the rebirth promised to worshippers of Dionysos.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.49
Title
Antefix in the Shape of a Mask of Silenos
Classification
Architectural Elements
Work Type
architectural element
Date
c. 470-460 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Gela (Sicily)
Period
Classical period, Early
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/287354

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta with traces of paint
Technique
Molded
Dimensions
23.5 cm h x 20 cm w x 14 cm d (9 1/4 x 7 7/8 x 5 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Charles L. Morley, (by 1960) sold; to Frederick M. Watkins, New Haven, CT, (1961-1972), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1972.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.49
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973)
  • Caroline Houser, Dionysos and His Circle: Ancient Through Modern, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1979), no. 35.
  • Stephen R. Wilk, Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, Oxford University Press (UK) (Oxford, NY, 2000), p. 166, fig. 9.7

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
  • Dionysos and His Circle: Ancient through Modern, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/10/1979 - 02/10/1980
  • Re-View: S422 Ancient & Byzantine Art & Numismatics, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/12/2008 - 06/18/2011
  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project
  • Collection Highlights

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu