1992.256.90: Female Anthropomorphic Statuette
SculptureIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1992.256.90
- Title
- Female Anthropomorphic Statuette
- Other Titles
-
Alternate Title: Miniature Figure
Alternate Title: Umbrian Figure - Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- statuette, sculpture
- Date
- 5th-4th century BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Umbria
- Period
- Archaic period to Classical
- Culture
- Italic
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/311831
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Copper alloy
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 3.6 x 2.1 cm (1 7/16 x 13/16 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Technical Observations: The patina is pale green with brown patches. No cuprite is evident. The figure is poorly preserved and appears to have been cast by the lost-wax process with the circular designs stamped in the wax model prior to casting.
Carol Snow (submitted 2002)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates
- Accession Year
- 1992
- Object Number
- 1992.256.90
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The statuette has beveled edges, which indicate file finishing. The legs are rounded to a soft point. The left leg and both hands are missing.
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 (1). 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 (2). 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. For comparison, see 1979.403.
2. 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
Subjects and Contexts
- Ancient Bronzes
Related Objects
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