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Expert’s note: The extraordinary place occupied by Medusa in the classical mythology is reflected even in her name. While the great Greek gods were absorbed into Roman religion under Latin names – Zeus as Jupiter, Athena as Minerva, and others – Medusa crossed from the Greek into the Roman world essentially unchanged: Greek Medousa became Latin Medusa. Like Herakles, whose name survived in the closely related Latin form Hercules, she belonged to a shared mythological vocabulary that transcended the boundaries between Greece and Rome. Few figures of antiquity achieved an identity so immediate and enduring: the name Medusa, like her terrifying frontal image, required no translation, and only very few images of classical antiquity rival Medusa in their visual power and universal recognition.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted an entire exhibition to this remarkable phenomenon, aptly entitled Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art. Over the centuries, the terrifying and grotesque Gorgon of early Greek art was transformed into an increasingly human and ultimately beautiful woman, without ever losing her deadly power. The present relief belongs firmly to this later tradition: the monstrous features have given way to an idealized female face, while the uncompromising frontal gaze still confronts the beholder directly. Beauty had replaced monstrosity, but the gaze alone remained a deadly weapon.
Expressively carved as the head of Medusa, her rounded face with deeply set eyes beneath heavy brows, a broad nose, and full lips. Thick, disheveled locks frame the face, interspersed with serpents, a pair of wings emerging behind the upper part of the head, the feathers articulated in three rows. Further intertwined snake bodies are visible beneath the chin. A curling acanthus leaf is carved at the lower left beside the head. The relief was conceived as an architectural element, the terrifying image of the Gorgon serving an apotropaic function.
Provenance: Found in Lebanon, according to the present inventory record. With Galerie Antike Kunst Socowi, Vienna, Austria. Sold at Kunst- und Antiquit?tenmesse Wien (Art and Antiques Fair of Vienna), on 7th June 1992. The collection of Dr. Ewald Nowotny, Vienna, Austria, acquired from the above, collection inventory number A0051. A copy of an inventory record from the Dr. Nowotny collection, dated 1 November 2009, stating that the relief was found in Lebanon and that the acquisition was supervised by Dr. Gilbert Hamamciyan, proprietor of Antike Kunst Socowi, accompanies this lot. Antike Kunst Socowi was a Vienna-based antiquities dealership operated by Gilbert Hamamciyan, active from at least the early 1990s. Hamamciyan was a longstanding member of Vienna's professional art and antiquities trade and was honored by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce in 2022 for thirty years of activity in the field. Socowi handled classical antiquities and supplied works to private collectors and institutions including the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Dr. Ewald Nowotny (b. 1944) is a distinguished Austrian economist, academic, and former central banker. He served as Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank from 2008 to 2019 and was consequently a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. Earlier, he was Vice President of the European Investment Bank from 1999 to 2003 and held a professorship at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where he headed the Institute for Fiscal and Monetary Policy.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Fragmentary as preserved, obvious losses, particularly along the outer edges, with old wear and weathering, scattered chips, abrasions, scattered encrustations and deposits. The central facial features and principal sculptural elements are remarkably well preserved.
Weight: 69.5 kg
Dimensions: Size 70 x 43.5 cm
The gorgoneion, or head of Medusa, was one of the most powerful protective images of the ancient world. Her terrifying gaze was believed to ward off evil, making the motif particularly suited to temples and monumental architecture. By the Roman period, Medusa had become more humanized in appearance, while retaining her characteristic frontal gaze, serpentine locks, and wings.
The use of Medusa on monumental architecture was particularly widespread in the Roman East. At the temple of Khirbet edh-Dharih in Jordan, built around AD 100, Medusa heads were prominently placed on the facade amid elaborate architectural ornament (fig. 1). Closely related architectural fragments probably originating from Smyrna, now in the British Museum and Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo (figs. 2-3), likewise show large, winged Medusa heads with serpentine hair and acanthus ornament. These provide particularly close parallels for the composition and scale of the present relief.
The celebrated Medusa frieze from the Temple of Apollo at Didyma provides an impressive monumental comparison (fig. 4). There, enormous frontal Gorgon heads were integrated with luxuriant vegetal ornament along the exterior architecture. The same combination of a dominant frontal head, spreading wings, animated locks, and acanthus decoration is found on the present relief. Significantly, the similarity with Didyma was already noted in the older documentation accompanying this piece.
Medusa also remained an important image in the funerary art of the Roman Levant. A late 2nd-century sarcophagus fragment in the British Museum, possibly found in Lebanon or Syria, centers a Medusa head within an elaborate garland (fig. 5). Although funerary rather than architectural, it provides further evidence for the popularity of monumental Medusa imagery in the same region and period.
The present relief therefore fits convincingly within the broader tradition of monumental Medusa imagery in the Roman East during the 2nd century AD. Its reported Lebanese findspot, large scale, winged frontal head, serpentine locks, and surviving acanthus ornament strongly support its interpretation as part of a substantial architectural ensemble, most likely from a religious or public monument.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 3 July 2018, lot 43
Price: GBP 112,500 or approx. EUR 177,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fragmentary roman marble oscillum, circa 1st century A.D.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related high-relief treatment, and head of Medusa emerging from a mass of writhing serpents and deeply carved hair. Note the different marble medium, the surrounding oak-leaf wreath, and the double-sided oscillum format. Note the much smaller size (47 x 45 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 6 October 2010, lot 159
Mid-Estimate: GBP 50,000 or approx. EUR 93,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Roman marble relief fragment, circa 3rd century A.D.
Expert remark: Compare the related Roman dating and relief format, as well as the similarly bold, deeply carved treatment of a large head dominating the composition. Note the different marble medium, profile orientation of the head, and more complex figural composition. Note the much smaller size (51.5 x 30 cm) and that only half the head of Medusa has survived.
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