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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2004.195
Title
Warrior
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
mid 5th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Umbria
Period
Classical period
Culture
Etruscan
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/4865

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
15.24 x 6.35 cm (6 x 2 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron
Comments: The object has high levels of surface iron and calcium.
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is black or very dark green with spots of green and red. The right hand is lost. The tang on the bottom of the right foot was broken off and re-adhered with a pin. A crack in the right ankle goes most of the way through the metal. The shield that would have been held in the left hand is missing; modern glue around the shield handle currently in the left hand indicates that some type of shield was recently attached. Most of the surface is preserved in perfect detail.

Soft manipulation marks in many areas indicate the model was formed directly in the wax prior to casting. There may have been a small amount of cold working in the cast metal on the chest and face, but most of the details were formed in the wax.


Henry Lie

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Purchased by the donor at auction in 1986 from Dr. Herbert A. Cahn of Munzen and Medaillens, Basel, Switzerland (M&M auction #70, 14 November 1986, lot 149). Ex collection, H.R. Suter, Binningen, Switzerland.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Claude-Claire Grenier
Accession Year
2004
Object Number
2004.195
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 striding warrior wears a cuirass, greaves, and a helmet. His right arm is upraised, missing the hand, which probably grasped a spear. His left arm is stretched out and likely once held a shield. His helmet has a high, undecorated crest that is broken at the lower tip; the cheek pieces of the helmet are raised on either side of the face. His face is broad and flat, narrowing to the chin, which is squared and prominent. He has simple, molded brows, bulging almond-shaped eyes, a small mouth, and a sharp triangular nose. His neck is relatively thick. He wears a short cuirass with short sleeves and shoulder straps, but otherwise lacks detail. The warrior is nude from the waist down, except for the simple greaves that cover the fronts of his lower legs. His molded genitalia are visible. He is barefoot, with toes indicated in part by separation and in part by incised lines. Long triangular tangs (2.07 cm) extend from the bottoms of his feet for attachment to a stand. The figure is modeled in the round.

Various types of statuettes depicting a warrior, perhaps Mars or the dedicant, are found in northern Italy during the Archaic period (1). The depictions range from elaborate to schematic and are thought to have been votives. Q. Maule includes the Harvard piece in a group of 34 warrior statuettes assigned to an artisan that he dubbed the “Strong Jaw Master,” who worked in Italy in the first half of the fifth century BCE (2).

NOTES:

1. See G. Colonna, Bronzi votivi umbro-sabellici a figura umana 1: Periodo “arcaico” (Florence, 1970) 76-83, nos. 174-92, pls. 49-60.

2. See Q. Maule, “The Strong Jaw Master,” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaeologischen Instituts: Römische Abteilung 101 (1994): 33-42 (no. 26 is the Harvard statuette).

Lisa M. Anderson

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