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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.116.1
Title
Anthropomorphic Statuette
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Small Schematic Votive Statuette
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
6th-4th century BCE
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Italic
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/352314

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast
Dimensions
4.2 x 2.4 x 0.4 cm (1 5/8 x 15/16 x 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: Human figure: The patina is green with areas of black and an overlying layer of white accretion material. The white layer has been scraped away to reveal the green patina. The faint shape of an eye on the proper left side of the head may have been incised in the accretion material rather than cast in the metal.

The statuette is a solid cast, probably from a model made directly in wax. All the edges have been abrasively finished at a slightly tapered angle to create a more rounded shape for the casting.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year
1920
Object Number
1920.44.116.1
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
This flat, stylized figurine holds its arms out from its sides. Its thin body widens slightly at feet, which are short. It is perhaps a female figure represented in a dress. The notches on the shoulders may be decorative, as is clearly the case in other examples. The back is flat and featureless, curving slightly at the back of the head.

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, 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.


Lisa Anderson and Aimée F. Scorziello

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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