Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The largest of the five schematic figurines in the collection, this statuette was perhaps designed to fit into a base; unlike the others, it has feet from which tangs protrude, enabling it to be set upright (1). It is also softer in its modeling, with a rounded head and hands that have vertical slashes for fingers on the left hand. No visible marks indicate eyes or mouth.
The facial features of this type of votive offering have a relatively uniform style: punched roundels for eyes, a raised ridge formed by the angular modeling of the head for a nose, and a simple incised groove for a mouth. Gender can be difficult to determine, as both male and female figures are depicted with nipples; the difference may be that “breasts” tend to be indicated by larger, punched roundels. Genitalia for the females are often an inverted triangle, while for the males there is a nearly circular knob of bronze, although sometimes it is flattened, making identification difficult. These statuettes also have a common stance with arms outstretched to the sides and legs parted in a V-shape. The open positioning of the arms is generally interpreted as a pose of prayer, consistent with that of other types of votive offerings found in tombs and sanctuary deposits (2). The Umbrian examples of this type of votive are cast and file finished; 1,600 of them were found in a pit deposit at a mountain sanctuary at the top of Monte Acuto, Italy (3). A similar sanctuary context for the five figurines in the Harvard collection may also be assumed. Small, lightweight, and flattened in form, they would have been easy to produce and may have been made near cult shrines to catch the trade of visiting pilgrims.
NOTES:
1. Compare a similar piece in M. Bolla and G. P. Tabone, Bronzistica figurata preromana e romana del Civico Museo Archeologico “Giovio” di Como (Como, 1996) 79, no. A 66.
2. For comparison, see 1979.403.
3. Compare L. Bonfante and F. Roncalli, eds., Antichita dall’Umbria a New York, exh. cat. (Perugia, 1991) 213-20, nos. 4.15-4.31, for a general discussion of these anthropomorphic figurines. See also C. Cagianelli, Bronzi a figura umana, Museo gregoriano etrusco 5 (Vatican City, 1999) 241-53, nos. 45-90, which are described as the “Esquiline” group, comparable to 1920.44.116.1, 1920.44.248, 1992.256.90, and 2012.1.36. For 2012.1.35, compare ibid., 254-60, nos. 91-114, described as the “Aemilia” group.
Aimée F. Scorziello
