Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Etruscan Bronze Statuette of Discus Thrower

About the Item

A remarkably fine example of Archaic sculpture.  A figure of a discophoros, or discus bearer, standing with his right leg forward, gripping a discus in his right hand, the left arm raised with an open palm. Described with admiration in Münzen und Medaillen's 1961 auction, "The figure is a masterpiece and illustrates with rare vividness the essence of good Etruscan sculpture... Magnificent early classical bronze from a workshop in southern Etruria that was under strong Greek influence, probably Vulci." The discus throw was one of the five competitions of the ancient pentathlon. Athletic prowess was highly celebrated in Etruria and victorious pentathletes were hailed as models of perfection. When depicting discus throwers or bearers, Etruscan artists were particularly inspired by representations of athletes on Greek vases. "Confident in his powers … he gathers up his strength and whirls the disk above him and hides it in the clouds … at last exhausted it returns to Earth more slowly from the height and buries itself in the field." Statius (c. AD 45-96), Thebaid, Book VI Height on stand: 11.5 cm (14 cm) Provenance: Münzen und Medaillen, Basel, “Kunstwerke der Antike. Auktion XXII”, 13 May 1961, lot 72 Subsequently in the collection of Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979), Lugano Thence by descent.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 5 in (12.7 cm)Diameter: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 490-470 BC
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 426131stDibs: LU1052231020482

More From This Seller

View All
Roman Marble Statuette of Jupiter
Located in London, GB
Roman Marble Fragment of jupiter Circa 2nd-3rd Century A.D. Measure: Height: 19.7 cm This beautiful Roman fragmentary statuette depicts Jupiter, the king of the gods, here recognisable from his two chief attributes, the eagle with outstretched wings - according the Pseudo-Hyginus, singled out by Jupiter because ''it alone, men say, strives to fly straight into the rays of the rising sun'' - and the base of the scepter, which remains at the side of the left foot, an aspect likely borrowed from the statue of Zeus at Olympia, once one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Though much of the original piece has been lost, the subtle anatomical detail in the feet mark this out as a piece of exceptional quality, and the work of an artist of particular talent and patience - as Johann Winckelmann once said of the famous Belvedere Torso, ''if you contemplate this with a quiet eye [...] the god will at once become visible in this stone.'' This fragment once caught the eye of Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle (1694-1758), a Knight of the Garter and among the most prolific collectors of his day. The piece, acquired during his travels to Rome, was proudly displayed on an alcove of the Western Staircase of Castle Howard...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Figurative Scul...

Materials

Marble

Late Bronze Age Sword
Located in London, GB
Saint Nazaire Sword, Late Bronze Age, circa 800-900 B.C. An exceptionally well preserved Bronze Age sword, with elegant, finely incised decorations,...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Late Bronze Age Sword
$75,000
Free Shipping
Bronze Age Cypriot Plank Idol
Located in London, GB
Cypriot Plank Idol Early Bronze Age III - Middle Bronze Age I, c. 2100 - 1850 BC. Low fired burnished earthenware pottery with lime-filled incisions A Cypriot plank idol, an iconic form of human representation from Bronze Age Cyprus...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Cypriot Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Bronze Age Cypriot Plank Idol
$150,000
Free Shipping
A Piece of Mars - Martian Meteorite
Located in London, GB
MARTIAN STONE - NWA 14713 Lherzolitic shergottite 127 g “This 127-gram fragment of the NWA 14713 meteorite displays a green-black mottled exterior. The rock is a martian shergottite (a basalt) composed mainly of coarse grains of pyroxene as well as calcium-plagioclase glass. This glass, called maskelynite, formed from crystalline plagioclase when the specimen was blasted off the surface of Mars by an energetic collision. There are currently less than 350 known martian meteorites...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier North African Natural Specimens

Materials

Stone

Roman Marble Head of a Satyr
Located in London, GB
Head of a Satyr Roman, circa 2nd - 3rd century AD Carved and highly polished marble An extremely fine marble head of a satyr, depicted with ivy wreath, curly hair and pointed goat’s ear, the full lips slightly parted to reveal the creature’s clenched teeth. The head was once part of a relief with visible fragmentation on the left side. Almost completely worked in the round and carefully polished, the skill of the sculptor is particularly remarkable given the confined working space available for a relief carving, such as this. The Roman Imperial Period marked the expansion of the political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period began with the reign of Augustus in 27 BC, immediately following Caesar’s assassination which ultimately ended Rome’s time as a republic. Soon after, Augustus’ defeat of Anthony and...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Busts

Materials

Marble

Roman Marble Head of a Satyr
$59,000
Free Shipping
Roman Marble Head of Sophocles
Located in London, GB
Roman Marble Head of Sophocles Circa 1st-2nd Century Marble This fine Roman marble head preserves the proper left side of the face of a middle-aged man, with broad nose, soft lips, and bearded chin. The short beard and sideburns have been finely carved with a flat chisel, to render the soft, wavy strands of hair. The cheekbone, undereye, and nasolabial folds have been delicately modelled in the marble by a skilled hand. In a letter from 1975, the former director of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, suggested that the head could depict the Ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles. Few figures in the Classical world stand aside Sophocles (c. 496-406 BC), inarguably the best known of the Athenian tragedians, in terms of the impact his works have had on the history of art and literature. The psychological depth he achieves in the seven of the 123 of his plays that have survived to the present day - most notably the three Theban plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus - not only inspired the Athenians, among whom Sophocles was honoured as a hero long after his death, but in our own time, have provoked landmark works on phychoanalysis and literary criticism, by thinkers like René Girard and, most famously, Sigmund Freud. In its masterful treatment of the marble this fragment sensitively captures the features of one of the most important playwrights of all time. Height on stand: 7.9 inches (20 cm). Provenance: Collection of Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Classical Roman Busts

Materials

Marble

Roman Marble Head of Sophocles
$45,000
Free Shipping

You May Also Like

Discobolus Discus Thrower Classic Bronze Sculpture
Located in Red Lion, PA
This early 20th-century bronze sculpture is a finely crafted reduction of The Discobolus by Myron, one of the most celebrated sculptures of classical antiquity. Measuring approximate...
Category

20th Century Classical Greek Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Antique bronze athlete as discus thrower
Located in Berlin, DE
Antique bronze athlete as discus thrower Antique athletic male athlete as discus thrower in pose. Bronzed mounted on a square marble base. Made in Germany before 1945
Category

Vintage 1930s German Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Bronze Discus Thrower on Marble Base
Located in Annville, PA
Graceful even when standing still the Bronze Discus Thrower on Marble Base is a striking addition to any setting. Using traditional lost wax cast...
Category

2010s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Bronze statuette with marble base "Javelin thrower"
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, AR
Bronze statuette with marble base "Javelin thrower" The statuette "Javelin Thrower" is a striking example of such a work of art.
Category

Mid-20th Century Argentine Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Nude Discus Thrower, Bronze Sculpture by Ludwig Eisenberger
By Ludwig Eisenberger
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine example of the early 20th century artist's fascination with the idealized male figure and virile athleticism, this lovely bronze by Ludwig Eisenberger...
Category

Early 20th Century German Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Beautiful Bronzed, Athletic Discus Thrower, Germany, 20th Century
Located in Berlin, DE
Beautiful bronzed, athletic discus thrower. Bronze figure of a discus thrower, bronzed, 20th century. Bronzed On a square plinth.
Category

20th Century Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Zinc

Recently Viewed

View All