Cypriot Terracotta Shield in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2010

Title: Terracotta shield

Medium; Technique: Terracotta; wheel-made

Culture: Cypriot

Period: Cypro-Archaic II

Date: ca. 600–480 B.C.

Dimensions: diameter 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm)

Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76

Accession Number: 74.51.1260

On View


Description:

The shield is decorated with a scale pattern and has a painted projection in the center. During the Archaic period, clay models of shields were offered in sanctuaries and tombs. This practice speaks for the rarity of bronze, out of which an actual shield would have been made.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...