Statuette of a Warrior, Possibly Laran

about 450 B.C.

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

31 × 8.9 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-249554

A striding warrior wearing full hoplite armor moves forward in an attitude of attack. His left leg is advanced, body and head upright and facing front. In his raised right hand he once brandished a weapon. His extended index and middle fingers identify the weapon as a javelin, which was launched by hooking the fingers in a throwing strap. On his left arm, held away from his body, the warrior once supported a shield. The bearded figure is barefoot and his legs are protected by plain long greaves. Under his cuirass, which is embossed with concentric circles, he wears a chitoniskos with an incised hem. On his head he wears a helmet with a tall crest, the cheek pieces of which are turned up.  The Umbrians lived in northern central Italy, and many aspects of Umbrian culture were similar to that of the neighboring Etruscans. Yet in the mid-400s B.C., at a time when most Etruscan artists were working in a naturalistic style, Umbrian sculptors living near the Etruscan border began creating exaggeratedly tall and thin figures. Figures of mortal warriors, which may represent the war god Laran (Roman Mars), were common votive offerings in sanctuaries.