Statuette of a Man inscribed with a Dedication to the Etruscan God Lur

300–280 B.C.

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

31.6 × 13 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-251382

This votive statuette of a youthful male figure wears a short semi-circular mantle draped around his waist and over the left shoulder and arm. Both arms are bent, and the right raised a little from the body. His hands, which are large but delicately modeled, are spread in a gesture of supplication for a divine omen or prayer. Deep folds on the right side of the neck emphasize the turn of the head upward and to the right. The face and hair are well modeled, with large, deep-set eyes, with iris and pupil indicated, under a furrowed brow. He has broad cheeks and full, fleshy lips. The hair, which covers the ears, is parted in the center and ends in sickle-shaped clusters of short striated locks, of which a symmetrical pair rises prominently above the center of the forehead. The expression of the face and the studied twist of the head are clearly inspired by portraits of Alexander the Great. A votive inscription, in Etruscan, is engraved on the mantle in two parts, the first running along its edge from the left wrist to the corner of the garment below: "Vel Matlnas". The second part follows the slanting folds of the drapery at the back, with the last three letters written in boustroph…