Bronze mask of the river god Acheloos

Bronze mask of the river god Acheloos
C. 500 BC.
Height: 31 cm. Width 24 cm.
Bronze.
Etruscan bronze mask of the river god Acheloos. The head decorated the center of a round bronze shield placed with several others on the wall of a tomb in Tarquinia. The eyes are made from inlaid white and dark glass-paste. Such shields were made locally and only used in tombs. The Acheloos head was supposed avert all things evil.