Sculpture of a priest. Etruscan.200 - 100 BC Bronze
Sculpture of a priest. Etruscan culture, 200-100 BC.
Bronze.
PROVENANCE: Former private collection of Pierre Claude and Jeanine Vérite, France, formed between 1930 ? 1980. Inventory number of Jeanine Vérité "4593".
CONSERVATION: Good state of preservation. There is a crack around the neck to the shoulders.
BILBIOGRAPHY: MACINTOSH TURFA, J. Votive Offerings in Etruscan Religion. Nancy Thomson de Grummond - Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans (Sixth Langford Conference Proceedings). University of Texas Press. Austin. 2006.
HAYNES, S. The Bronze Priests and Priestesses from Nemi. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäogischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung, 67. 1960. pp. 34 ? 47. MAETZKE, G. Per un Corpus dei Bronzetti Etruschi. La Collezione del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Chiusi. Studi Etruschi 25. 1957
Measurements: 37,5 cm. high.
Imposing male votive figure, made in solid bronze, of a young man, presented standing, probably a priest. He wears a himatión, a wide and enveloping cloak that covers the left shoulder and arm, which descends down the chest - showing him naked - towards the right hip, covering his legs. It has no binding or fastening, unlike the clamid. The ankles and feet are uncovered, without footwear of any kind. The figure holds, in his right hand, a patera or fà ale with a pronounced omphalos in the centre. This was a shallow saucer-shaped vessel used for ritual libations to the gods by pouring a liquid into it. In his left hand he would hold a circular incense box, now lost. His head is adorned with a diadem, usually referred to as a radiant crown of ivy leaves or berries. The statuette has a posture and anatomy - together with a particular flattened form - that is a direct influence of the Hellenistic Greek style, as are the wavy, long hair, the expressive face and the beautiful facial expression. In addition to the undoubted sculptural quality of the face, the most remarkable factor is its size; statues of offerers or priests of small dimensions, between ten and fifteen centimetres, are common, but those preserved similar to the present one are rare. Parallels: Votive figure. Bronze. 2nd - 1st century BC. 26.67 cm high. British Museum, London. Inv. 1955,0501.1. Priest. Bronze. 2nd century BC. 33 cm high. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Inv. 54.1088.
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Sculpture of a priest. Etruscan culture, 200-100 BC.
Bronze.
PROVENANCE: Former private collection of Pierre Claude and Jeanine Vérite, France, formed between 1930 ? 1980. Inventory number of Jeanine Vérité "4593".
CONSERVATION: Good state of preservation. There is a crack around the neck to the shoulders.
BILBIOGRAPHY: MACINTOSH TURFA, J. Votive Offerings in Etruscan Religion. Nancy Thomson de Grummond - Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans (Sixth Langford Conference Proceedings). University of Texas Press. Austin. 2006.
HAYNES, S. The Bronze Priests and Priestesses from Nemi. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäogischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung, 67. 1960. pp. 34 ? 47. MAETZKE, G. Per un Corpus dei Bronzetti Etruschi. La Collezione del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Chiusi. Studi Etruschi 25. 1957
Measurements: 37,5 cm. high.
Imposing male votive figure, made in solid bronze, of a young man, presented standing, probably a priest. He wears a himatión, a wide and enveloping cloak that covers the left shoulder and arm, which descends down the chest - showing him naked - towards the right hip, covering his legs. It has no binding or fastening, unlike the clamid. The ankles and feet are uncovered, without footwear of any kind. The figure holds, in his right hand, a patera or fà ale with a pronounced omphalos in the centre. This was a shallow saucer-shaped vessel used for ritual libations to the gods by pouring a liquid into it. In his left hand he would hold a circular incense box, now lost. His head is adorned with a diadem, usually referred to as a radiant crown of ivy leaves or berries. The statuette has a posture and anatomy - together with a particular flattened form - that is a direct influence of the Hellenistic Greek style, as are the wavy, long hair, the expressive face and the beautiful facial expression. In addition to the undoubted sculptural quality of the face, the most remarkable factor is its size; statues of offerers or priests of small dimensions, between ten and fifteen centimetres, are common, but those preserved similar to the present one are rare. Parallels: Votive figure. Bronze. 2nd - 1st century BC. 26.67 cm high. British Museum, London. Inv. 1955,0501.1. Priest. Bronze. 2nd century BC. 33 cm high. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Inv. 54.1088.
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