J. Paul Getty Museum - Los Angeles-Malibù

The collection mostly consists of Pre-Roman material, but also includes a small number of Roman-period carvings, of which the Head of Medusa is the most important. The Pre-Roman material includes a variety of jewelry elements that date from the seventh to the fourth centuries BC: fifty-six figured works and approximately twelve hundred non-figured beads, fibulae, and pendants, all gifts from sir Gordon McLendon. A winged female head in profile showing specific characteristics stands out in a particular way among the ambers of our interest, especially in the treatment of some anatomical details. These details call to mind the female protomes from Canosa and Melfese area, framed in the context of the production of the "Master of the Winged Warrior," one of the workshops operating within the famous "Satyr and Maenad Group." Particularly interesting is the rendering of the hair on the forehead, made out in clumps or in wavy bands, which brings in a clear manner this protome to a similar artifact from the tomb 419 of Banzi. The other two winged female heads of the Getty Museum are characterized by a high tutulus and diadem that cover all the hair, big eyes profiled by a deep, almost lozenge-shaped groove, big pyramid-shape nose, small mouth, and tight lips. These figures fully fall, from a stylistic point of view, within the group of female heads gathered under the so-called "Roccanova Group", and in particular between the protomes of type B in the classification of Montanaro, widespread especially in Canosa area.