LOT 0049

Etruscan Bronze Figure of a Kouros

LATE 6TH CENTURY B.C.

4 3/8 in. (118 grams, 11.2 cm).

Depicting a youthful nude kouros standing frontally, with a long, slender body, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and arms hanging close to the sides; the head, slightly oversized, characterised by an oval face, large almond-shaped eyes, an Archaic smile, and finely modelled ears, the hair arranged in beaded locks framing the forehead and falling onto the shoulders, reflecting the influence of contemporary Greek Archaic sculpture; standing on an integral rectangular base provided with a long tang for attachment.

Acquired on the European art market between 1960s and 1980s.
English private collection, property of a gentleman.
Bertolami Fine Art, London, Auction 54, 9 November 2018, no.88.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13320-258214.

See for closely comparable examples, including the kouroi from Talamone (circa 540–530 B.C.) and Fonte Veneziana (circa 530–510 B.C.), both preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence; Salskov Roberts, H., Catalogue of the Sardinian, Etruscan and Italic Bronze Statuettes in the Danish National Museum, 2021, cat. 4, inv. no. 4807, for the type.

The elegant proportions and linear modelling place the statuette within the widespread production of Etruscan votive bronzes of the Late Archaic period, probably intended as a sanctuary dedication.