The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 12, 2025

Light brown ornamental roof tile shaped as a circular Gorgon head, a woman with snakes for hair, arranged around the tile in "s" shapes. The Gorgon has almond-shaped eyes and a wide mouth with bared, sharp teeth and her tongue sticking out. Tight hair coils arc over her forehead in two rows before yielding to the snakes, some broken away at the top of her head.

Gorgoneion Antefix (Ornamental Roof Tile)

c. 500 BCE

Greek / South Italian, Taranto

Terracotta (moldmade)
height: 24.5 cm (9 5/8 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2021.3
Location: 102D Pre-Roman

Did You Know?

The Gorgoneion represents the decapitated head of Medusa, most famous of the three Gorgon sisters.

Description

This mold-made terracotta antefix, a type of ornamental roof tile, takes the form of a Gorgoneion, a disembodied Gorgon head. Nearly circular in shape, it features bulging, almond-shaped eyes and a grinning mouth with wide tongue and sharp teeth or tusks. S-shaped serpents surround the head, some standing tall. Traces of pigment suggest a more vivid original appearance, perhaps considered both terrifying and protective.
  • By 1953
    Monnaies et Médailles S.A., Basel, Switzerland (also known as Münzen und Medaillen), sold to Prof. Dr. Hans Jucker.
    1953-2011
    Prof. Dr. Hans Jucker (1918-1984) and Dr. Ines Jucker (née Scherrer, 1922-2013), Bern Switzerland, sold to Michael G. Petropoulos.
    2011-2020
    Michael G. Petropoulos, owner of Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
    2020-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Münzen und Medaillen A.G. Monnaies d'or gauloises, grecques, romaines et byzantines ; objets d'art grecs. Basel: Münzen und Medaillen, 1953. p. 29 and pl. XI, lot 299
    Schefold, Karl. Meisterwerke griechischer Kunst. Basel. Kunsthalle. Catalogues. 1960-1961. Basel: B. Schwabe, 1960. pp. 61, 230-231, no. V 275
    Vereinigung der Freunde Antiker Kunst (Switzerland), and Zentralbibliothek Solothurn. Kunst der Antike aus Privatbesitz Bern-Biel-Solothurn: [Ausstellung] Zentralbibliothek Solothurn, 21. Oktober bis 3. Dezember 1967. [Solothurn, Switzerland?]: [Zentralbibliothek?], 1967. p. 137, no. 334
    Herdejürgen, Helga. Götter, Menschen und Dämonen: Terrakotten aus Unteritalien : [Sonderausstellung im Antikenmuseum Basel, 16 April bis 20. August 1978]. Basel: Archäologischer Verlag, in Kommission bei Philipp von Zabern, Mainz, 1978. p. 89, no. C4
    “New on View.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 3 (Summer 2021): Back cover. Reproduced and Mentioned: Back cover.
  • Galerie Rhéa “Hallmark", Galerie Rhéa, Brussels Ancient Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium (6-10 June 2012).
    Galerie Rhéa “Hallmark", Galerie Rhéa, TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (Every March, 2012-2018).
    Götter, Menschen und Dämonen: Terrakotten aus Unteritalien, Antikenmuseum Basel, Switzerland (16 April-20 August 1978).
    Kunst der Antike aus Privatbesitz Bern-Biel-Solothurn, Zentralbibliothek Solothurn, Switzerland (21 October-3 December 1967).
    Meisterwerke Griechischer Kunst, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (18 June-13 September 1960).
  • {{cite web|title=Gorgoneion Antefix (Ornamental Roof Tile)|url=false|author=|year=c. 500 BCE|access-date=12 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.3