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Published & Exhibited: Galerie Günter Puhze. Kunst der Antike / Ancient Art, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2013, p. 19, no. 28.
Central Italy. Masterfully cast, of elongated form with a gently curving profile, the broader central section decorated with an arrangement of nine raised bosses, each encircled by several concentric incised rings, the composition flanked on either side by subtly incised triangular motifs and sinuous double lines forming pairs of highly stylized water birds shown in profile, emerging from two additional raised bosses at the ends of the belt plate. The whole framed above and below by further incised lines with crosshatched ornament. The belt terminates at one end in a hook and at the other in a rectangular plate, by which it was originally attached to a leather breastplate.
Provenance: A private collection in Switzerland since the 1950s. Collection of Axel Guttmann, Berlin, Germany, acquired from the above in 1982. Galerie Günter Puhze, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 2013. A private collection in Germany, acquired from the above. Axel Guttmann (1944-2001) was a German collector whose sustained interest in ancient arms and armor led him to assemble one of the most significant private collections in the field. He acquired his first Roman helmet in 1982 and, by the time of his death, had brought together more than 1,200 objects, then regarded as the largest collection of its kind in private hands. Housed in a private museum outside Berlin, the collection was made accessible to scholars and formed the basis of the Sammlung Axel Guttmann publication series. Its holdings ranged widely across Greek, Near Eastern, and Roman military equipment. Following his death in 2001, the collection was dispersed through a series of sales at Christie’s and other European auction houses between 2002 and 2004, with several works subsequently entering the Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins, France. Günter Puhze is a German antiquities dealer whose interest in the ancient world developed during his studies in the early 1960s and was further deepened through extensive study travel. After working with galleries in Zurich and Freiburg, he established his own gallery in 1975, specializing in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art. Over the following decades, Puhze built an international reputation based on profound scholarly expertise, advising collectors and museums, and serving as a jury member at major international art fairs. He is a member of the German Art Dealers Association and the IADAA, and his gallery continues to publish annual catalogues and participate in leading art fairs.
Condition: Very good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, signs of prolonged burial, areas of corrosion, small dents, and minor nibbling along the edges. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina, with extensive malachite encrustations to the reverse.
Weight: 1.5 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 32.8 cm (excl. stand), 33.1 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated wood stand. (2)
In the archaeological record of central Tyrrhenian Italy, gender is often inferred from grave goods, particularly where the preservation of human remains does not permit reliable determination of biological sex or age. Male burials are frequently associated with weapons, while female graves more commonly contain textile-working implements, particular types of brooches, jewelry, and other elements of personal adornment.
Belts served not only a practical function but also acted as visible markers of identity and status. In central Tyrrhenian Italy, differences in form and decoration appear to have reflected distinctions of rank, gender, and ethnicity. Leather belts survive only rarely, usually where metal fittings or rivets have aided preservation, whereas bronze examples provide more substantial evidence for their social significance.
Among the most distinctive are the lozenge-shaped bronze belts found in aristocratic burials. They were formed from a sheet of bronze bent into a semicircular profile and were apparently attached to a textile or leather strap, which passed through perforations at one end and engaged with a hook at the other. Bronze belts are particularly well represented in female and child burials, with lozenge-shaped examples occurring most frequently. Their strong association with the female sphere has led some scholars to connect them with the matrimonial status of women. However, their presence in child burials indicates that they cannot be interpreted exclusively as symbols of marriage and may instead have conveyed a broader aspect of social or familial identity.
For a detailed discussion of bronze belts as indicators of social identity and rank in prehistoric central Tyrrhenian Italy, see Sanna Lipkin, The Belt in Prehistoric Central Tyrrhenian Italy, in Janne Ik?heimo, Anna-Kaisa Salmi, and Tiina ?ik?s (eds.), Sounds Like Theory XII: Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group Meeting in Oulu, 2012, Monographs of the Archaeological Society of Finland, vol. 2, Helsinki: The Archaeological Society of Finland, p. 35-58.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Proto-Etruscan bronze belt, dated 800–700 BC, 40 cm long, in the British Museum, registration number 1857,1013.2. Compare a closely related Villanovan bronze belt, dated 775-725 BC, 29 cm long, in the Musée du Louvre, inventory number MND 2303. Compare a closely related Italian bronze lozenge-shaped belt, dated to the first half of the 8th century BC, in the Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, inventory number 64492. Compare a closely related Etruscan bronze belt, dated to the mid-8th century, 36 cm long, illustrated in Silvia Cassani (ed.), The Art of the Italic Peoples from 3,000 to 300 BC, 1993, p. 136-137, no. 47.
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