Bidspirit auction | Etruscan Bronze Figure of Warring


Etruscan Bronze Figure of Warring Mars - 6th century B.C. The Etrusco-Italic warrior Laran (Roman Mars) modelled in the round, representing a young muscular hero with long torso and rounded shoulders, wearing a high-crested Illyrian helmet with grooved perimeter, a hole above each ear for attaching an ornament; mounted on a custom-made display stand. Cf. De Ridder, A., Bronzes Antiques du Louvre, Paris, I-II, 1913-1915, nos.277, 281; Giglioli, G.Q., Arte Etrusca, Milan, 1935, pl.CCXXI; Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Fran?aises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, pp.38-39, no.5bis, for similar; Boucher, S., Recherches sur les bronzes figures de Gaule pr?-romaine et romaine, Rome, 1976, no.14. 326 grams total, 16.2 cm high including stand (6 3/8 in.). Ex Koutoulakis collection.Ex Gorny & Mosch, Munich, 17 June 1999, no.2051.with Sotheby's, New York, 12 June 2001, no.16.Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11803-206793. The statuette assumes the position of the 'warring Mars', which characterises the numerous Etruscan and Italic statues of the god produced as votive offerings to the temples or for private lararia. The god is depicted as taking part in a military march with his left leg advancing, his raised right would have held a spear and the left hand a shield. (For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price.) [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]