Skip to main content
Lot 89*

A Greek terracotta antefix with the head of Io

28 November 2019, 10:30 GMT
London, New Bond Street

£800 - £1,200

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Antiquities specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

A Greek terracotta antefix with the head of Io
Taranto, circa 4th Century B.C.
The nymph depicted with cow's horns, now largely lost, her wavy hair bound by a wreath, wearing pendant earrings, with almond-shaped eyes, full lips and rounded chin, with traces of white slip, 17cm high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private collection, New Mexico, acquired prior to 1991.

The nymph Io was a priestess of Hera, who Zeus took as a lover; in a bid to protect her from Hera's wild jealousy, he changed her into a beautiful white heifer. For a closely-related antefix in the British Museum see C. Johns, Cattle, History, Myth, Art, London, 2011, p. 70, acc. no. 1884.1011.7.

Additional information

Bid now on these items