Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

The statuette is whole with well-rendered musculature, but the feet are lost. The surface of the bronze is corroded and some fragments have disappeared : the surface details are not clearly visible, but one can still appreciate the overall work and thedelicacy of its form. Originally, it would certainly have been a small masterpiece. The bronze, cast using the lost wax process, was completely built up around a clay core, which is still preserved on the interior of the statue. This core, which the bronzesmith would have coated in a layer of wax, could not have been easy to remove, the sculpture being made of many elements, so it remained inside the piece entirely enveloped in metal.
The person represented is a young, beardless man; he may be an image of a hero (Theseus ?) or a god. He is standing in a combat position, with his left leg forward: the raised right arm holds a sword (or a lance ?) while a shield fixed to his left arm would have protected his body. The round, solid face nevertheless yields glimpses of the well modeled forms of the cheekbones; the short hair covers the head like a skullcap ; the musculature of the chest, the legs and the back are well rendered. His stylistic development corresponds to those of masculine figures (such as kouroi) from the end of the Archaic period.