Votive (Gift) in the Shape of a Woman's Head
Ancient Etruscan
about 500 BCE
Medium
terracotta, pigment
Dimensions
26.5 × 22 × 18 cm (10 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
ceramics
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
48978
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Supplicants placed votive heads in temples to accompany requests and offerings of thanks to the gods. Artisans used molds to produce images of both men and women. On finer examples, such as this head, a pointed tool was used to refine elements of the face and hair before the object was fired in the kiln. Traces of pigment suggest that the hair was originally painted bright red. Earrings once hung from holes in the ears.