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Terracotta female head

20 November 2023

From Cerveteri, Italy, 4th or 3rd century BCE
On loan from Otago Museum
H 19cm, W 16cm
Otago Museum E28.58 (JLMC D5.55)

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This Etruscan terracotta figurine of a goddess may have been a decoration from a temple or a votive offering. The figure resembles either the Greek corn-goddess Demeter or her daughter Persephone, known as Ceres and Proserpina respectively by the Romans.

Grain was a staple in the ancient diet and its growing, storage and distribution was a matter of survival. A number of festivals to the goddesses were celebrated throughout the agricultural year. Such offerings can be viewed as commercial transactions between the worshipper and the goddess, an inducement for a successful crop or tangible proof of gratitude towards a divinity for listening to a prayer.


Terracotta female head
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