Finial with a Resting Youth

450–425 B.C.

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

5.7 × 3.3 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-250782

A solid-cast statuette depicts a seated nude youth, arm propped on one raised knee and head drowsily cradled in the palm of his hand. His dense curls, furrowed forehead, broad nose, and fleshy lips are features that ancient artists employed to characterize Black Africans. Believed to inhabit Aethiopia, a rich and powerful kingdom located south of Egypt, their dark complexion distinguished them from Mediterranean peoples. From the spool-shaped base, the figurine can be identified as an ornamental finial that originally crowned a candelabrum. The same finial on a complete example, which has a tall shaft and four prongs to hold candles, is in the Museo Etrusco Nazionale di Villa Giulia in Rome (inv. 24417). Reflected in candlelight, the somnolent figure was appropriate on luxury banquet bronzes that illuminated the shadowy interiors of Etruscan tombs and residences. Images of crouching and slumbering youths derive from ancient Egyptian models and express various mythical and social identities. Occasionally the motif designates a reposing attendant or servant, but it often occurs on votive artifacts related to the nurturing of children and infant gods. Sculptors in the bronze worksho…