Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

68
V.4 Central panel, right profile V.5 Central panel, left profile
a fanlike crest rises from the animal’s head, and its long
tail falls behind the woman’s hand; the horsehair is represented
by serried traced lines. The crest holder is decorated
with three concentric bands, the outer one having a stopped
meander filled with dots, the central one vertical bars, and
the inner one diminishing triangles.
The birds of prey are not accurate representations of
eagles, as they do not have hooked beaks. Their stylized
bodies and plumage make it difficult to identify them specifically.
The bodies are shown in profile, while the tails are
displayed frontally, fashioned with “petals” converging at
the bases, where horizontal strips separate the plumage
from the scaly bodies. The long wing feathers have doubleoutlined
cusps. The legs bent against the bodies present
lines of traced bars representing feathers until halfway
down; the shins are bare, apart from feather collars around
the ankles. The hooked, closed talons are executed in profile
with two simple lines in relief. double-outlined rows of
dots separate the heads from the bodies. The softest head
feathers are represented by tiny punched dots that contrast
markedly with the solid beaks executed only in relief. The
bird of prey on the right has both wings displayed to fill the