2004.9
Sardinian Bronze Figure of a Man (Votary)
Artist
Artist Unidentified
Title
Sardinian Bronze Figure of a Man (Votary)
Creation Date
799 BCE - 600 BCE
Century
8th-7th century BCE
Dimensions
7 1/4 in. x 1 3/4 in. x 1 in. (18.42 cm x 4.45 cm x 2.54 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Creation Place
Europe
Medium and Support
bronze
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Adela Wood Smith Trust, in memory of Harry de Forest Smith, Class of 1891
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
2004.9
Sardinian bronze figurines and stone sculptures of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age are among the most important archaeological evidence found on the island and they rank among the most impressive pictorial representations of West European prehistory anywhere. Despite the continued interest they have generated, their meaning and chronology are not fully understood and continue to be a matter of debate. During the archaeological excavations in Sardinia, more than five hundred of these bronze statuettes have been discovered, mainly in religious contexts, but also in villages and tower-like nuraghi. Notwithstanding its elongated proportions and stylized detail, this figurine is recognizable as a male warrior in the act of offering. Sporting a necklace, pleated kilt, and decorated grieves (shin guards), the figure stares straight ahead with both arms outstretched. The hands (now missing) would have held offerings or weapons.
Object Description
Standing slightly more than 7 inches tall, this slender, highly stylized figure with broken forearms formerly held forward in a gesture of offering wears a striated kilt and chevron incised shin protectors. His triangular face has a prominent nose, circular eyes with raised perimeters and eyebrows arching low over the temples.
Additional Media
front
3/4 front view
left side
back
right side