Etruscan Bronze Kouros / Nude Male Youth

Classical World, Etruscan, ca. 6th century BCE. Finely cast via the lost wax (cire perdue) technique, an Etruscan nude youth with characteristically broad shoulders, standing on an integral square plinth with his left leg advanced, his right arm raised, and his left arm bent at the elbow, hand on hip. His body is quite masculine - boasting a trapezoidal chest and muscular legs. His countenance presents a steadfast gaze with perfectly symmetrical features - almond-shaped eyes, arched brows, pointed nose, closed lips - and his cap or caplike coiffure framing his visage. A wonderful homage to male youth, the highest ideal of beauty in the Classical world, that was most likely dedicated in a sanctuary as a votive offering to the gods. Size: 3.375" H (8.6 cm); 4.5" H (11.4 cm) on included custom stand.

The Etruscans were renowned in early antiquity for their bronzes, and votive figures like this one were traded far and wide according to Pliny the Elder. Titus Livius records that when the consul Marcus Fluvius Flaccus conquered the Etruscan city of Volsinii, they took a line of wagons, including two thousand bronze statues, to Rome, where they were melted down to make coinage to finance the war against Carthage.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Vincent Carrozza collection, Texas, USA, owned between 1983 and 2017; ex-private European collection, acquired in 1980

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#147906
Condition Report: Intact with expected surface wear but nice remaining details. Wonderful surface patina.