Janiform Head In Marble, Italy, 14th Century

Janiform marble head, Italy, 14th century


Consisting of a bearded and horned old man's head, opposed to a young man's head.
From the sixteenth century, janiform heads are associated with an esoteric tradition.
"Janus is the Roman god of beginnings and ends, choices, passage and doors. He is bifrons (" two-headed ") and shown  with one face turned to the past, the other to the 'future.' "

Representative of italian gothic to renaissance transition art, this head shows trepan use.

H. 11 cm - H. 18.5 cm with base