Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Sardinian Bronze Figure of a Man (Votary)

Preview image of work. bronze, Sardinian Bronze Figure of a Man (Votary) 13604

2004.9

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Sardinian Bronze Figure of a Man (Votary)

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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.