Vatican Museums

This plaque is decorated with a head of Medusa in relief, in frontal view and slightly turned to the left, with a serpentine knot under the chin. The hairstyle, winged and interspersed with serpents, is made up of long untidy locks. The eyes turned upwards and the slightly parted lips confer a markedly pathetic tone to the face.
In this applique, previously part of a jewel, it is possible to observe a rendering in precious metal of the head of Medusa in the typical Hellenistic style; parallels also exist in tomb architecture. The pathetic intonation of the Hellenistic age adds expressiveness to the classical gorgoneion, of the Rondanini Medusa type, the prototype of which is attributed to Phidia, already distinguished by the introduction of wings among the hair. The Hellenistic interpretation constitutes a further evolution of the classical version, which in turn sought to humanise the archaic gorgoneion with its horrific traits, used as a motif aside from its apotropaic value.