Tortoise and Lion Amulet Group

A rectangular wooden panel carved in relief with a central male bust within a shield, held by two flanking winged putti; remains of polychrome pigmentation and gilding. 4.7 kg, 68 x 28 cm



English private collection.

The timber shows some old insect flight holes and we are advised that this piece has been recently treated with Permethrin, as a precaution.

A hollow-formed bronze copy of the Mars of Todi, a figure of an Etruscan warrior wearing segmented armour to the chest and shoulders, crested helmet, short tunic; the hands in animated pose with left hand open to accept a weapon; holes beneath feet for mounting. 7.6 kg, 61.5 cm high



French collection, 1960s-early 2000s. From an important Paris gallery, France. with Galerie Athena, Brussels, 9 May 2019, lot 393. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11691-199344.

The "Mars of Todi" figure is a large, almost life-sized bronze statue of a warrior in armour. It dates from the late 5th - early 4th century B.C., and is believed to have been produced by an Etruscan workman for an Umbrian patron. The figure was probably a votive offering for a religious sanctuary, perhaps sacred to Laran, the Etruscan god of war. It had been buried ritually and left undisturbed until its modern discovery in 1835. It lacks a helmet, and the hands are empty; possibly a patera plate was originally in the open right hand, and a spear gripped in the clenched left hand. The sculptor of the figure followed the Greek contrapposto posture accentuating the carefully modelled lamellar plate armour. The statue bears a short inscription in Umbrian "Ahal Trutitis dunum dede" (Ahal Trutitis gave this gift).

A bronze nude and muscular male figure modelled naturalistically in the round, standing in a dynamic pose; mounted on a tiered display base; repaired. 1.46 kg total, 24 cm high including stand



English private collection.