Miniature Head of a Silenus
c. 400 -300 BCE
Description
This mold-made head was perhaps a decoration for a vase, perhaps applied at the base of vertical handle. It depicts a finely molded head of bald silenus with projecting egg shaped forehead, tiny, deeply-set eyes, a snub nose and mustache framing a small pierced mouth. The long beard in rendered in globular relief locks. A pair of symmetrically opposed curled curving locks adorns the bottom of the beard. Mold made solid with smooth back and a horizontal groove across the base.
Dimensions
3.1 x 2.3 cm (1 1/4 x 7/8 in.)
Provenance
Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.
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