{"type":"artobject","objectid":19902,"objectnumber":"y1931-13","sortnumber":"1931 13y","displaytitle":"Antefix (vertical roof tile that conceals the covering tiles of a roof) with gorgoneion","department":"Ancient, Byzantine, and Islamic Art","classification":"Ceramics","datebegin":-500,"dateend":-480,"datecomputed":-490,"daterange":"1000 B.C.-A.D 1","displaydate":"ca. 500–480 BCE","medium":"Terracotta","dimensions":"17.5 x 26.0 cm, d. at top with remnant of cover tile 4.0 cm (6 7/8 x 10 1/4 x 1 9/16 in.)","dimensionsproposed":"","creditline":"Museum purchase","markings":null,"inscribed":null,"signed":null,"catalograisonne":null,"creditlinerepro":"","restrictions":null,"nowebuse":"False","secondaryobjectnumber":null,"campuscollections":"false","on_view":true,"accessionyear":"1931-01-01","newaccession":0,"titles":[{"title":"Antefix (vertical roof tile that conceals the covering tiles of a roof) with gorgoneion","titletype":"Primary Title","displayorder":1}],"makers":[],"depicted":[],"texts":[{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Multivocal Label","textentryhtml":"

\n\tThe 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!\n

\n

\n\tSamuel Holzman, Assistant Professor of Art and Archaeology, Stanley J. Seeger ’52 Center for Hellenic Studies, Princeton University\n

\n

\n\t
\n

","remarks":"MED_22_ADJ-3_CLA-Day 1 Cataloguing (group chat for y1931-13, y1964-111)"},{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Provenance","textentryhtml":"Purchased by the Museum from Ludwig Pollak, Rome, in 1931","remarks":null}],"media":[{"id":7033,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/y1931-13","isprimary":1,"rank":1,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"Luna Digitization Project"}],"hasimage":"true","bibliography":[{"boilertext":"

Ancient Greece: life and art: an exhibition at the Newark Museum, (Newark, NJ: Newark Museum, 1980).

","citation":"

Ancient Greece: life and art: an exhibition at the Newark Museum, (Newark, NJ: Newark Museum, 1980).

, checklist no. 57 (illus.)","date":1980,"id":766,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/81907645"},{"boilertext":"

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).

","citation":"

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).

, no. 117 (illus.); p. 240-241","date":1979,"id":771,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/5633161"},{"boilertext":"M. E. C., \"Classical accessions: VI. Greek terracottas\", Bulletin (Metropolitan Museum of Art) 17, no. 5 (May, 1922): p. 113-115.","citation":"M. E. C., \"Classical accessions: VI. Greek terracottas\", Bulletin (Metropolitan Museum of Art) 17, no. 5 (May, 1922): p. 113-115., p. 115","date":1922,"id":6721,"uri":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3254320"},{"boilertext":"\"What's on\", Art newspaper 140 (Oct. 2003).","citation":"\"What's on\", Art newspaper 140 (Oct. 2003)., p. 10 (illus.)","date":2003,"id":6722,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/905770817"}],"exhibitions":[{"exhibitionid":56,"citation":"The Centaur's Smile: The Human Animal in Early Greek Art:\r\n\r\nPrinceton University Art Museum (11 Oct., 2003 – 18 Jan., 2004);\r\nMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston (22 Feb. – 16 May, 2004).","isvirtual":true,"begindate":"2003-10-11","enddate":"2004-05-16","uri":"https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/exhibitions/56"}],"geography":[{"displaygeography":"Place made: Europe, Italy, Tarentum (Taranto), Southern Italy","code":"Place made","continent":"Europe","subcontinent":null,"country":"Italy","region":"Southern Italy","state":null,"city":"Tarentum (Taranto)","county":null,"subregion":null,"locale":null,"locus":null,"river":null,"excavation":null,"geoname":"http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_40.416_17.255.html","location":{"lat":"","lon":""}}],"terms":[{"id":2112701,"term":"antefixes","aatid":300002217,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2188659,"term":"gorgons","aatid":null,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2158076,"term":"snakes","aatid":null,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2049167,"term":"ceramics","aatid":300151343,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2158090,"term":"faces","aatid":null,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2036474,"term":"Archaic (Greek)","aatid":300020086,"termtype":"Period / Style"},{"id":2036579,"term":"South Italian","aatid":300020172,"termtype":"Culture"},{"id":2096051,"term":"mythology","aatid":300055985,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2160397,"term":"slip","aatid":300010459,"termtype":"Materials"},{"id":2160936,"term":"terracotta","aatid":300010669,"termtype":"Materials"}],"classifications":[{"id":2049167,"classification":"ceramics"},{"id":2112701,"classification":"antefixes"}],"cultures":[{"id":15159,"culture":"South Italian","alphasort":"South Italian","begindate":0,"enddate":0,"displayculture":"South Italian","displaydate":null}],"cultureterms":[{"id":2036579,"culture":"South Italian"}],"periods":[{"id":13625,"period":"Archaic Period","alphasort":"Archaic Period","begindate":-600,"enddate":-480,"displayperiod":"Archaic Period, ca. 600–480 BCE","displaydate":"ca. 600–480 BCE"}],"periodterms":[{"id":2036474,"period":"Archaic (Greek)"}],"attribute_groups":[{"id":2199316,"term":"Ancient Mediterranean Art","termtype":"Collecting Area"}],"dimensionelements":[{"element":"Overall","type":"Height","units":"centimeters","dimension":"17.50"},{"element":"Overall","type":"Width","units":"centimeters","dimension":"26.00"},{"element":"Overall","type":"Depth","units":"centimeters","dimension":"4.00"}],"packages":[{"packageid":181973,"name":"web_2020_Ancient"},{"packageid":278831,"name":"10282025-DAY1-ONVIEW"},{"packageid":182067,"name":"web_2020_ancient_italy-earlyroman"},{"packageid":194497,"name":"PUAM_Highlights of Greece and Rome"},{"packageid":220207,"name":"Gallery_22(Pavilion6)-AncientMed"},{"packageid":216441,"name":"2022_ART387/ITA330_TBD"}],"primaryimage":["https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/y1931-13"],"displaymaker":null,"displayculture":"South Italian","displayperiod":"Archaic Period, ca. 600–480 BCE","caption":"South Italian, Archaic Period (ca. 600–480 BCE), Tarentum (Taranto), Southern Italy, Italy, ca. 500–480 BCE, Antefix (vertical roof tile that conceals the covering tiles of a roof) with gorgoneion. Terracotta; 17.5 x 26 x 4 cm. Museum purchase (y1931-13)","captionhtml":"South Italian, Archaic Period (ca. 600–480 BCE), Tarentum (Taranto), Southern Italy, Italy, ca. 500–480 BCE, Antefix (vertical roof tile that conceals the covering tiles of a roof) with gorgoneion. Terracotta; 17.5 x 26 x 4 cm. Museum purchase (y1931-13)","published_date":"2026-02-11 09:23:37.834126","campusart":[{"campuscollections":"false","campusart":0,"neighborhood":null,"lat":null,"lon":null}],"extended_content":false}