On view
Antefix (vertical roof tile that conceals the covering tiles of a roof) with gorgoneion,
ca. 500–480 BCE
The invention of fired-clay roof tiles inadvertently changed what Greek temples looked like. Water-resistant and nonflammable, tiles had benefits over thatching, but they also weighed more. A low roof slope kept tiles from sliding off, but it altered the silhouette of the building, so that the eaves (the edges of the roof) instead of the ridge stood out. Long before gargoyles, end tiles (antefixes) populated rooftops with monsters. This snake-haired gorgon and donkey-eared satyr would have watched from above with wide-open eyes and perked-up ears. Mass-produced from molds, these hybrid creatures are the guard dogs of the gods. Behave!
Samuel Holzman, Assistant Professor of Art and Archaeology, Stanley J. Seeger ’52 Center for Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
Information
ca. 500–480 BCE
Europe, Italy, Tarentum (Taranto), Southern Italy
- M. E. C., "Classical accessions: VI. Greek terracottas", Bulletin (Metropolitan Museum of Art) 17, no. 5 (May, 1922): p. 113-115., p. 115
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Gloria Ferrari and Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway, Aspects of ancient greece: an exhibition organized by the Allentown Art Museum with the cooperation of Gloria Ferrari Pinney and Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway ... Allentown Art Museum, September 16 through December 30, 1979, (Allentown, PA: Allentown Art Museum, 1979).
, cat. no. 119 -
Ancient Greece: life and art: an exhibition at the Newark Museum, (Newark, NJ: Newark Museum, 1980).
, checklist no. 15 - "What's on", Art newspaper 140 (Oct. 2003)., p. 10 (illus.)
