Etruscan Bronze Statuette of a Discobolos

Among the most celebrated art subjects from Antiquity in modern Western society, the theme represented by this statuette is certainly one of the best known; that is, the discus thrower – Discobolos.

The young man, who is naked and standing, holds the discus in his left arm.  His stance is quite particular, since the torso and left leg are seen in a frontal position, the left arm in a three quarter view, whereas the head, right leg and arm are rendered in profile.  Also, his body seems to be leaning slightly towards the left of the viewer.

The gesture of the right arm (the fist is clenched, but the forefinger and middle finger are pointing  forward) is enigmatic and has only one other known precise  parallel in another standing statuette of a Discobolos, probably originating from Magna Graecia, and exhibited at the Lausanne Olympic Museum.  The feet, forming a right angle, are also affixed to a circular base, which ensures the figure’s equilibrium.

The statuette, of bronze and full cast, was probably made following the lost wax technique.  Qualitatively, it can certainly be considered a small masterpiece of minor Etruscan art.  Both technically (the cast is superb) and artistically (the proportions are perfect, incisions are fine and precise, and volumes are splendid), the artist’s rendering of his subject is admirable.

The young athlete’s body is muscular, but remains elegant and slender.  One should stress the particular attention and detail the sculptor deployed in defining the musculature of the figure’s back and torso, with the finely incised lining of the ribs.

The head is well rounded, the face rather angular with strong jaws, and the hairstyle is beautifully rendered with a series of fine superficial incisions representing the locks.  The forehead is hidden behind a thick fringe, covering also part of the cheeks, but not the ears.  On the back of the head, the hair is folded behind a simple metal band, which runs over the neck and atop the skull.

Stylistically,  the best parallel for this statuette is an image representing a Shepherd, and which is part of the G. Ortiz collection.  Indeed, the proportions, the shape of the head and neck, the face’s details and hairstyle are strikingly similar.  Consequently, it is probable that the Discobolos and the Shepherd may have common origins and are therefore contemporary.  Hence, the production site is this statuette is most likely from a an Etruscan atelier in the region of Vulci.  Chronoligically, one would thus date the Discobolos to the second quarter of the 5^th century B.C..

In Antiquity, the discus throw was already one of the athletic events of the Olympic games.  This discipline opened the Pentathlon event, and was followed, in order, the long jump, the javelin, the stadium race and wresting.  Contrary to most of the other events, this exercise has not direct link to military training per se.  As attested by the most famous Discobolos of Antiquity, the one modelled during the middle of the 5^th century B.C. by the famed sculptor Myron, the athlete’s movement is not so different from the one modern day throwers execute:  to spring,  the bust is lowered and the arm is raised towards the rear, whilst the legs cross each other and are slightly bent.

The Antique iconography of the Discobolos is not limited to Myron’s representation of the instant when the movement of bodily rotation begins.  In fact, there are numerous representations, varying from raised athletes with the discus well over their heads,   standing one with the discus in their hand (as with our figure), Discobolos talking with other sportsmen, or in the presence of judges or  trainers, etc… , and which are all treasured subjects of Antiquity’s artists.

In early Italian or Etruscan art, discobolos figurines comparable to this statuette are more frequent than on Greek soil.  The most often decorated the top of candelabras, for which they also sometimes served as handles ( the candelabrum is a typically Etruscan object composed of a tripod  foot, a long rod and of three or four stands for the lamps; the top being crowned by a statuette, which subject varied widely: athletes, satyres, Kouroi or Korai, warriors, etc…).

The figurine is virtually intact, with no parts broken or missing. The dark brown coloured surface is smooth and cleaned surface; with some reddish copper chlorite spots visible in some areas.

Ex- H. Vollmoeller private collection, collected in 1972.

“Antike Kunst”, Galerie Heidi Vollmoeller, Zurich, 1975, no. 108

The “shepherd” statuette from the Ortriz collection:

ORTIZ G., “In Pursuit of the Absolute, Art of the Ancient World, The G. Ortiz Collection”, 1996, n.195 (with prior bibliography)

For other etrsucan statuettes of « discobolos » :

HAYNES S., “Etruscan Bronzes”, 1985, n.134 (candélabrum entier) et 139.

MITTEN D.G. – DOERINGER S.F., “Master Bronzes from the Classical World”, 1967, p. 174-175, n. 176 et 178, p. 216, n. 219 (complete candélabrum).

The Lausanne « discobolos » in :

VANHOVE D., « L’Olympisme dans l’Antiquité » (Musée Olympique, Lausanne), III, 1998, p. 43, n. 33.

On sport in Antiquity, the bibliography is extremely extended, see for example:

VANHOVE D. (éd.), « Le sport dans la Grèce antique », 1992, p. 109-111, p. 286-302, n. 151-167.