Etruscan, 5th century B.C.

Bronze

H: 7 cm (2.7 in)

Serial: 35576 

A rare and exquisitely modeled young woman participates in athletic events. Kneeling, the gestures of the figure suggest she moves rapidly. Her wide-open eyes express the stress of the competition, and cropped hair suggests her young age. Holding up the opposite arm, an attribute may have been held in her right fist. The short tunic she wears is embellished with embroidery in an inverted V pattern along the bottom hem and X’s along the collar. The figure could have been intended a decorative element of a tripod, candelabrum, thymiaterion (incense burner), or a large vessel.

Provenance

Ex- Donati collection, Lugano, Switzerland, 1984;

Christie’s, New York, 8 June 2001, lot 47;

The Gilbert collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts, acquired in New York, 8 June 2001.

Exhibited and Published

From Myth to Life: Images of Women from the Classical World, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, 12 March – 10 October 2004, p. 54, no. 15; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, 12 February - 31 July, 2005; Tampa Museum of Art, Florida, 18 September - 3 December 2005; La Biennale, Grand Palais, Paris, 11-17 September 2019; PAD London, Berkeley Square, London, 30 September 6 - October 2019

Published

The Gilbert Collection: by Phoenix Ancient Art, New York, 2019, no. 255