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 Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, pp.38-39, no.5bis, for similar; Boucher, S., Recherches sur les bronzes figures de Gaule pré-romaine et romaine, Rome, 1976, no.14.
326 grams total, 16.2 cm high including stand (6 3/8 in.).
Ex collection Koutoulakis.Ex Gorny & Mosch, Munich, 17 June 1999, lot 2051.with Sotheby's, New York, 12 June 2001, lot 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 on 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]
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