TERRACOTTA ROUNDEL, C2 BCE. THE BRITISH MUSEUM The Sicilian town of Centuripe in the province of Enna began its life as a village of the Siculi, but was thoroughly Greek by the C5 BCE and joined the Romans against the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. Cicero described it as "by far the richest city in Sicily" and it produced magnificent painted terracotta dishes and architectural elements. Here we see a gently-smiling Eros, wings outspread, turning his head to look down at the folding mirror he holds in his right hand. Traces of red and white paint remain on his hair and clothes, on his wings and on the flower roundel from which he is emerging.
#ReliefWednesday this week focuses on this lovely little #terracotta roundel with an #Eros emerging from the centre of a flower, his hair braided in the centre. He holds a folding mirror in his surviving hand and shows traces of #polychromy. From #Centuripe in #Sicily, C2 BCE.
