Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The helmeted warrior stands frontally. The helmet, which covers the entire head and face, appears to be of the Corinthian type, with nose guard, cutouts for eyes, and a slightly flaring neck guard. The figure is otherwise nude except for a triangular loincloth, indicated only on the front. No neck appears between the helmet and the broad shoulders; the torso is stylized, tapering to the waist, with round hips and defined musculature in the thin legs, which are missing the feet. Although the legs are separated, they remain next to each other, indicating that the figure is standing still. He holds his upper arms close to his side; the right arm is almost completely attached to the torso, while the left arm is partially attached, with a small spur connecting the elbow to the torso. Both arms are bent at 90 degree angles at the waist, and the forearms held out; the hands are missing. The figure is modeled in the round, but featureless on the back except for the vertical line of the spine and the modern hole in the center.
E. Richardson describes the pose as “Hittite” and dates a similar piece in the Museo Archeologico, Florence, to the late seventh to early sixth centuries BCE (1).
NOTES:
1. Inv. no. 91381; see E. Richardson, Etruscan Votive Bronzes: Geometric, Orientalizing, Archaic (Mainz, 1983) 164-64 (Early Archaic Warriors), no. 1, fig. 375-76, pl. 107. Another good comparison for the piece is a slightly smaller warrior in the Vatican’s Museo Gregoriano Etrusco dated to the last quarter of the 6th century BCE; see C. Cagianelli, Bronzi a figura umana, Monumenti Musei e Gallerie Pontificie Museo Gregoriano Etrusco Cataloghi 5 (Vatican City, 1999) 157-58, no. 14.
Lisa M. Anderson
