- Simonetta Stopponi –
two terracotta heads with faces derived from the same mold as antefi xes of Orvietan type.
Another woman’s head, similar to the previous in iconographic and stylistic characters,
but slightly larger, is applied to a stand (Fig. 31.13). Between the head and the upper
edge of the base remains a small gap, perhaps functioning to receive liquid offerings.
The same mold for the larger female heads was also used for a male head, as shown by
the red color of the skin (Fig. 31.14). The hair on the forehead was shaved, perhaps for
the application of a crown or the front of a helmet. On the back it looks like a helmet
or a hat attached to the skull. At the top is a hole, larger than usual, for the meniscus
or for an attribute similar to the apex (pointed hat) of a fl amen. The male head, derived
from female prototypes, evocatively recalls the elegy of Propertius, the passage in which
Vertumnus says that if he wears garments of Cos he becomes a “gentle maiden.” The
Figure 31.13 Terracotta female head on base.Figure 31.14 Terracotta male head (front and back views).