Thymiaterion (Incense Burner)

WESTERN/MINOR ARTS: METALWORK/ART MARKET; ETRUSCAN; (late 6th/early 5th BC); art market; bronze h: 23.4 cm; Sotheby's Auction Catalogue, London, 7/9/91, #254; BRILLIANT GIFT; JAN 19 1993; 254; The Base from an Etruscan Bronze Thymiaterion, (Incense Burner), Late Sixth/Early 5th Century B.C., in the form of a dancing female figure or maenad standing on a triangular pedestal which in turn rests on a three-legged base with lion-paw feet, the stem of the incense bowl projecting from the crown of her head, she stands with her left leg raise, wearing an ankle-length, tight-fitting garment with pointed sleeve ends and long pointed shoes with upturned toes, with long hair falling in strands on to her shoulders, 23.4 cm. (9 3/16 in.) In Etruria the small statuette used for decorative purposes seemed to have a special significance. For a discussion of such statuettes on tripods and incense burners, see Brendel, Etruscan, pp. 216-221. For related examples of incense burners, though with different figures, see Haynes, Bronzes, pp. 156-158, figs. 54-56a.; £15,000-20,000