Warrior

The archaic period in Etruscan art – c. 600 to c. 480 B.C. – saw a great flourishing of bronze working. On the basis of Greek examples a personal, expressive sculptural style was developed. Unlike the Greeks, the Etruscans did not concentrate on a perfect rendering of the human body and on harmonious proportions, but rather focused on the expression of for instance the head and the hands.
According to archival records, this large,massive cast sculpture of a warrior was found in Ravenna and was manufactured in Central Etruria. Originally, the statue carried a lance in its right hand and a shield in its left. The helmet, of the Cretan type, ended in a swan’s head (now lost). The cuirass was formed to follow the body’s musculature. Underneath it, an undergarment (subligaculum) was fastened, protecting the loins. The lower legs are covered by shin-guards.
The soft, nearly feminine facial features, with small, almond-shaped eyes, are typical. The ‘archaic’ smile is playing around the warrior’s lips. On the side of the right leg an inscription reads: ‘Thucer Hermenas has dedicated [me]’. In the 6th century B.C. the Etruscans conquered the area around Ravenna. Thucer Hermenas may have been an Etruscan commander-in-chief dedicating a present to the gods in the hope of a successful outcome of his expedition.