I’m frequently guilty of leaving off the dimensions of artworks posted here, and in this infernal grid it can be tricky to get a sense of scale. And I would argue never more tricky than for little treasures like this one in Basel.
Head turned sharply, with tousled hair about her head, breathless parted lips, and upturned eyes beneath that fierce, furrowed brow, she is gorgon – one of the snakey-haired sisters vanquished by Perseus. (And that was a weirdly long sentence).
Monumental in its Pergamene-style pathos and extraordinary in terms of craftsmanship, the terracotta roundel is actually quite small at just under 10 centimeters in diameter and therefore a bit of a sleeper…unknown to me anyway until she made her American debut at the Met’s 2016 Hellenistic show.
If you find yourself in Basel for the big contemporary spectacle in a few weeks, venture over to the superb Antikenmuseum and seek her out. I promise you she’s better in person, this fearsome beauty.
