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Unknown Artist, Italy, 17th century , Italian

Title

Shield with Head of Medusa (convex side) and Battle Scenes (concave side)

Date17th century

MediumOil on canvas, laid on poplar wood shield

Dimensions

58.5 cm

Credit LineProvenance unknown

Object numberNGI.4337

Label TextThis painted shield is of a type known as a parade shield, produced for display in military and religious pageants in Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of three sisters, known as Gorgons, who were cursed with snakes for hair and ferocious faces. According to the myth, anyone who looked directly at the monsters’ faces was turned to stone - a power retained even after the Greek hero Perseus beheaded Medusa. Caravaggio famously painted a similar Medusa shield in c.1598 for his patron Cardinal del Monte.