Head of Aplu (Apollo)

Place of OriginItaly, stylistically attributed to Veii

Dateabout 450-430 BCE

DimensionsHead: 9 5/16 × 7 5/16 × 7 5/8 in. (23.6 × 18.5 × 19.4 cm)
w/base: 14 3/16 in. (36 cm)
Mount: 4 1/2 × 5 9/16 × 5 9/16 in. (11.5 × 14.1 × 14.1 cm)

MediumMold-pressed terracotta

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Anderton Bentley Foundation, the Clarence Brown Fund, the Dana Art Fund, the Michael J. Davies Memorial Fund, the Godwin Art Fund, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Klippel, and the Museum Art Fund

Object number

1986.101

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Collections

Sculpture

Published References"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 111, no. 1430, March, 1988, repr. p. 26, p. 67.

"Etruscan clay acquisitions," Ceramics, vol. 36, no. 5, May 1988, p. 31, repr.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Santuari d'Eturia, cura di Giovanni Colonna, Milan, 1985, pp. 105-106, nos. 3, 4.Label TextBrightly painted terracotta statues and reliefs were made to decorate the roofs and spaces of Etruscan temples. Serenely beautiful, this sculpture was made by pressing damp clay into molds, then joining the molded sections to form the complete head. The presence of the stephanos, a headband often associated with divine figures, suggests the subject may represent Aplu (Apollo). However, it could alternatively depict a male votary, offered as a dedication in a temple or sanctuary