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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1959.194
Title
Gorgon Head
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
head, sculpture
Date
c. 530 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Archaic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/289684

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
H. 10.3 x W. 7.5 cm (4 1/16 x 2 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Frederick M. Watkins, gift; to the Fogg Art Museum,1959.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1959
Object Number
1959.194
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This mold-made terracotta head is in the shape of a Gorgon mask. The almond shaped eyes, slightly protruding nose, and upturned mouth are incised with a sharp tool, a process that would have occured after molding. The hair is rendered as a repeated row of curls framing the face.

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973), p. 31, no. 10.
  • Claude Rolley, Deux gorgones, deux problemes. A propos de deux bronzes grec du Louvre, La Revue du Louvre (1981), 31, p. 326, no. 10.
  • David Gordon Mitten and Amy Brauer, Dialogue with Antiquity, The Curatorial Achievement of George M. A. Hanfmann, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1982), p. 13, no. 26, ill. p. 3.
  • Stephen R. Wilk, Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, Oxford University Press (UK) (Oxford, NY, 2000), p. 166, fig. 9.5

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
  • Dialogue with Antiquity: The Curatorial Achievement of George M.A. Hanfmann, Fogg Art Museum, 05/07/1982 - 06/26/1982
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/07/2016 - 05/08/2016; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/20/2024 - 05/05/2024

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