Etruscan Bronze Cista Foot: Usil

An ancient Etruscan bronze foot of a cista in the form of a lion’s paw surmounted by the winged nude solar god Usil moving to the right, his head facing forward, with winged feet, over rolling waves.

Ca. 5th century BC.

Height: 4 in. (10 cm.)

The Etruscan god Usil was the equivalent to the Greek Helios and Roman Sol. He was often depicted as a winged youth crossing the sea representing sunlight and the daily solar cycle.

cf.: a similar figure of Usil in the Getty Museum, Malibu, 96.AC.127.

Formerly in the James Loeb collection, Munich, Germany; with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 1960s; subsequently in the Albert Hartog collection, New York; Bonham’s, London, September 22, 1998, lot 461; subsequently in a New York private collection.

Exhibited: ‘Etruscans, Legacy of a Lost Civilization,” Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey, 1993.

Published: J. Eisenberg, Art of the Ancient World, vol. XXVII, (2016), no. 34.

Inv#: 9668

Guaranteed Authentic

$15,000