Etruscan Antefix with Maenad’s Head

Artisan: Lilliput’s Treasures (Luisiana Vadacca)
Date: 2021
Dimensions: 42 x 45 x 4 mm. / 1 ⅝ x 1 ¾ x ¼ inches (height x width x depth)
Inventory number: 2021.072
Intended Room: Museum
Category: Antiquities

An antefix was placed on the end of a roof in the classical period. Obviously I never thought I’d find a miniature version of one, but this was just the right piece to add to the Museum. It comes from the shop of Luisiana Vadacca, called Lilliput’s Treasures, and they are treasures indeed. Most of our miniature antiquities come from her.

I haven’t yet found a precise prototype for this miniature (perhaps it is simply a ‘type’ with no exact basis), but it is very similar to the antefixes from the Etruscan sanctuary of Portinaccio at Veii. Artefacts from the temple are now at the Museo Nazionale Etrusco at Villa Giulia in Rome, and there are examples of comparable artefixes with a maenad’s head framed by a fan-shaped headdress.