Elongated Nude Male | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1952.19
Title: Elongated Nude Male
Classification: Sculpture
Work Type: sculpture, statuette
Date: 6th-5th century BCE
Places: Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Period: Archaic period to Classical
Culture: Etruscan
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/304125

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Leaded bronze

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Dimensions

15.2 cm (6 in.)

Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 80.04; Sn, 12.77; Pb, 5.7; Zn, 0.013; Fe, 0.19; Ni, 0.09; Ag, 0.3; Sb, 0.4; As, 0.41; Bi, 0.08; Co, 0.013; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is light olive green; some areas where the surface is lost have very light powdery corrosion. It is also black on top of a few areas, such as the torso. The lower half of the proper right arm is missing. Otherwise, it is structurally sound. One foot shows a gouge that has exposed bare metal.

The figure is a solid cast and bears relatively crude tool marks. There is a design across the shoulders and chest that was probably made in the model before casting. The nipples are recessed, possibly to receive inlays that are now missing.

Carol Snow and Nina Vinogradskaya (submitted 2002)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Edward Jackson Holmes
Accession Year: 1952
Object Number: 1952.19
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions: The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
Standing with his left foot forward, this nude male statuette appears to be a votive from the Archaic period (1). The figure holds out both arms, although the proper right arm is now missing below the elbow. Under the corrosion and greenish-gray patina on the body, some surface details are visible. An incised pattern around the neck and shoulders of the statuette, possibly representing a necklace, is still evident; it would have been created using hand-based precision tools after the figure had been cast. Following the conventions of Archaic male coiffures, this figurine has a low fringe of hair and a thickened roll on his forehead. The surface of his head would have had vertical incisions covering both the front and back nape of the neck. His thick neck is set above narrow shoulders. His head is broad and has large almond-shaped eyes. The tubular torso gives way to outstretched arms that have traits of Geometric period “wiry” figures of seventh century BCE. These characteristics include a flattening of the body, rounded shoulders, the thickening of the neck, “wiry” arms, and a rounded torso. Although generally lacking musculature or other naturalistic features, the ribcage is faintly visible. The stylization of the incised circular depressions representing nipples is characteristic of this type of statuette in the late Archaic period. He may have held in his right hand a ritual object specific to the deity to whom the votive would have been dedicated. The figure has narrow hips, slender legs, and muscular calves.

NOTES:

1. Compare E. Richardson, Etruscan Votive Bronzes: Geometric, Orientalizing, Archaic (Mainz, 1983) 158-63, Late Archaic Kouros Series C, Groups 1-2, figs. 359A, 360-62, and 371, pls. 102 and 106.

Nicola Demonte

Subjects and Contexts

Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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