Etruscan Terracotta Head of Boy 700-500 BCE

"Classical World, Etruria, ca. 700 to 500 BCE. A realistic pottery head of a young child, with a rounded face, full cheeks, a dimpled smile, incised wavy short hair, and deepset, lifelike eyes. The pottery is a rich, earthy red that has gained beautiful deposits over the years, but when first made, this item would have been painted bright colors to give it a more natural appearance. This head was probably part of a funerary portrait or memorial. In the Etruscan world as throughout antiquity - indeed until the 20th century - rates of childhood mortality were incredibly high. A study of the well-excavated Etruscan graveyard at Tarquinia found that burials of young children were rare - implying that it was a special or elite child that would earn a grave in this society (as in many early societies). Who might this head have represented?"

Etruscan Terracotta Head of Boy 700-500 BCE. Size: 5" L x 5" W x 6" H (12.7 cm x 12.7 cm x 15.2 cm). Ex-Arte Primitivo.

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Image taken from an auction site.