Statuette of a Male Figure

This small bronze figure dates to around 500-400 BCE and comes from Umbria in central Italy. At just 2.75 inches tall, it served as a votive offering (ex voto) at a temple or sanctuary. Worshippers commissioned or purchased small bronze figures like this to give thanks for answered prayers, seek divine favor, or fulfill religious obligations. Thousands of these offerings accumulated at sacred sites over time.

Umbrian and Etruscan craftsmen cast these figures using the lost-wax method: a wax model was encased in clay, heated until the wax melted away, and then filled with molten bronze. After cooling, the clay was broken to reveal the bronze figure, which was refined by filing. The small size made bronze votives accessible to ordinary worshippers who couldn't afford monumental statues. The piece is at the Art Institute of Chicago, a gift from Dr. Theodore N. Zekman.