APOTROPAIC VOTIVE AEDICULE Terracotta and iridescent glass. Restored. H . 1 7 x W. 1 1 c m Eastern Mediterranean, Hellenistic period, 4th-3rd century BC Provenance Private European collection, acquired on the art market in the years 1990-2000 Small terracotta naiskos shaped as an architectural model representing the façade of a temple. The composition features two columns with Ionic capitals surmounted by a triangular pediment. At the centre of the pediment is a circular disc inlaid with a glass cabochon. Between the columns, at the heart of the façade, is a larger disc, also set in iridescent glass with polychrome reflections. This miniature architecture is reminiscent of Phoenician sanctuaries and illustrates the Eastern tradition of tephatim, small votive chapels fashioned into Egyptian aediculae and widely attested in the Phoenician-Punic world, from the Levantine coast to the western colonies of Carthage and Sardinia. This ex-voto had an apotropaic function: the glass discs, evoking protective eyes, were used to ward off the evil eye (fascinum) according to the ancient principle of "the same driving out the same". The figurative eye protects against the evil eye. These aediculae were offered in sanctuaries dedicated to healing and protective deities, notably Echmoun (the Phoenician equivalent of Aesculapius), Astarte or Tanit in the Punic world. Placed as votive offerings, they represented a request for divine protection or thanks for a favour received. The use of glassware and glass paste in Phoenician ex-voto offerings is amply attested by the excavations at the sanctuary of Echmoun in Sidon, where thousands of small beads and polychrome glass discs were unearthed, testifying to the legendary mastery of Phoenician craftsmen in the art of glass. Votive aediculae of this type originated in Canaanite art in the 2nd millennium BC and reached their peak in the Hellenistic period. They spread from Phoenicia (Sidon, Byblos) to Cyprus, then to the western Punic world (Carthage, Kerkouane, Sardinia). The adoption of Ionic capitals, the Greek architectural style par excellence, bears witness to the cultural synthesis characteristic of the Hellenistic period, when Phoenician craftsmanship incorporated Greek forms while preserving its votive traditions and ancestral apotropaic functions. Similar type : Musée du Louvre, Paris, AO 6987 Other examples : Kerkouane (Tunisia): stelae in the form of naiskos with a triangular pediment Sanctuary of Echmoun, Sidon: ex-voto with glass inlays Beirut Museum: Late Phoenician naiskos published by A.M. Bisi An Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean terracotta and glass Apotropaic Votive Aedicule. 4th-3rd century BCE. Small terracotta naiskos fashioned as an architectural model representing a temple façade. The composition features two columns with Ionic capitals surmounted by a triangular pediment. At the centre of the pediment, a circular disc inset with a glass cabochon. Between the columns, at the heart of the façade, a larger disc is similarly set with iridescent glass displaying polychrome reflections. This miniature architecture evokes Phoenician sanctuaries and illustrates the oriental tradition of tephatim, small votive chapels fashioned as Egyptianizing aedicules widely attested throughout the Phoenicio-Punic world, from the Levantine coast to the western colonies of Carthage and Sardinia. This ex-voto possessed an apotropaic function: the glass discs, evoking protective eyes, served to ward off the evil eye (fascinum) according to the ancient principle of "like repelling like." The figured eye protects against the malevolent gaze. These aedicules were offered in sanctuaries dedicated to healing and protective deities, notably Eshmun (the Phoenician equivalent of Asclepius), Astarte, or Tanit in the Punic world. Placed as votive offerings, they materialized a request for divine protection or thanksgiving for a grace received. The use of glass beads and paste in Phoenician ex-votos is abundantly attested by excavations at the sanctuary of Eshmun in Sidon, where thousands of small polychrome glass beads and discs have been unearthed, bearing witness to the legendary mastery of Phoenician craftsmen in the art of glass. Votive aedicules of this type find their origins in Canaanite art of the 2nd millennium BC and reached their apogee during the Hellenistic period. Their distribution extends from Phoenicia (Sidon, Byblos) to Cyprus, and then to the western Punic world (Carthage, Kerkouane, Sardinia). The adoption of Ionic capitals, the quintessential Greek architectural style, testifies to the cultural synthesis characteristic of the Hellenistic era, in which Phoenician craftsmanship integrated Greek forms while preserving its ancestral votive traditions and apotropaic functions.