Vatican Museums

This extremely rare example of ancient bronze statuary depicts a warrior dressed in a breastplate and leaning against an iron lance, in the act of performing a propitiatory libation with a patera before battle (the patera and the remains of the lance are currently on display in a cabinet). It is made up of parts cast separately using the lost wax technique and then soldered together, with multi-material insertions to enhance its naturalistic effect. The dedicatory inscription, in the language of the ancient Umbrians but in the southern Etruscan alphabet (ahal trutitis dunum dede) recalls that the statue was given as a gift (donum dede) by a certain Ahal Trutitis, possibly an individual of Celtic origin. Probably produced in a workshop in Orvieto (Volsinii), it displays references to Attican models from around the third quarter of the fifth century B.C., especially in the circle of Phidias, although with generic aspects of Polycletian form. It was discovered in Todi in 1835, buried between slabs of travertine, possibly after having been struck by lightning. It was acquired by the Papal Government in 1836.