Dancing Young Man
| Culture | Etruscan |
|---|---|
| Title | Dancing Young Man |
| Date | 500–400 BCE |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Dimensions | Overall: 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 75.36.1 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
A male dancer balances himself on his right leg and raises his left leg with bent knee and foot pointed downward. He also raises his right arm above is head and reaches forward with his left arm. The figure is placed on a pedestal with three curved legs.
This young dancer conveys a sense of spontaneous movement in space. The motif of a nude youth was influenced by Greek tradition, but skillful bronze work had long been part of Etruscan culture. Our statuette was possibly cast in a workshop at Vulci, the southern Etruscan town known for producing luxury items that were exported throughout the Mediterranean. Small sculptures like this were often made to decorate bronze vessels or implements such as incense burners and candelabra.
1975, Indiana University Art Museum purchase from Bank Leu AG, Zurich, Switzerland [1]
? –ca. 1975, Private collection in Lisbon [2]
Notes
[1] Bank Leu AG (Ltd) was a Swiss private bank from 1755-2007. In 1949, Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) was hired to manage the numismatic department within the bank, and, under his guidance, this branch of the bank became a successful auction house. Mildenberg continued as a managing director at Bank Leu until his retirement in 1983; he was also well-known as a scholar and philanthropist.
[2] Noted in correspondence from Bank Leu.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Dancing Young Man | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=75.36.1