Large Etruscan Votive Statue of a Swaddled Infant

Culture: Etruscan

Period: 3rd-2nd century B.C.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 54 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 4110

Provenance: Burgundian private collection, acquired prior to 1980. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Condition: Just below the bulla broken and professionally reattached. Otherwise only minor chips and cracks.

Description: Life-size terracotta statuette of a swaddled infant from an Etruscan sanctuary. The infant with eyes wide open, large, close ears and a prominent dimple on the chin. The mouth is open, the tongue slightly sticking out. The child is wrapped in a blanket, which covers the head with its engraved hair, and at the bottom only leaves the parallel toes visible and free. A bulla hangs on the chest, which should identify the infant as a native Etruscan. Votive statues such as the present one were found in various Etruscan sanctuaries. It is assumed that it represents the wish to have a child, as well as the protection of a new born by the gods. See for reference of the type with bulla the statues in the Vila Giulia in Rome, which were found in Tessennano.