Male head

A male head that was found together with another female head in an Iberian family shrine (“gentilician”), dedicated to a mythical ancestor or local hero that originated the social group. Other parts of the body such as feet and hands have been preserved, as have the remains of the clothing. These sculptures are part of a group in which the female figure, identified with Nike, would crown the male, who at the same time would hold a horse by the reins. This reflected the cult of a local indigenous chief who was hero-worshiped and deified. Stylistically they present influences from the Italian peninsula. They represent a good example of the Romanisation of the indigenous elites, who maintained their ideology but adopted an imported aesthetic. The family shrines were located in the highest part of Iberian settlements. In this case it was the Campos de Urnas settlement, subsequently Iberian, in Azaila (Teruel).