Statuette of a Kouros

Striding forward with his left foot advanced, the young man represented in this Etruscan bronze statuette extends his right hand and holds an object in his left. This statuette is based on a Greek prototype, the kouros, or statue of a youth. Although almost all Greek kouroi were nude with their hands falling to their sides, the Etruscan sculptor has adapted the form, clothing the youth and giving him an attribute to hold. Today, the attribute is missing, but the form of the youth's closed hand shows that it was cylindrical in shape. The youth wears a tebenna, a forerunner of the Roman toga, that is wrapped around his right hip with one end of the long garment pulled over his left shoulder from behind, and the other end thrown over his left forearm.

The statuette was probably dedicated in a sanctuary as a gift to the gods and the sculptor has taken great care with the details of the piece. The diagonal lines on the upper edge of the tebenna and the dots along the lower edge represent elaborate embroidery. After casting, the sculptor incised the individual strands of hair.